The allure of darkness
by Ana Dobreva
Summary: "Don t underestimate the allure of darkness - even the purest hearts are drawn to it"
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

It´s been four months since Elena left Mystic Falls. It was the tragic night when she fed on a cheerleading-competition, the day she attacked Liz Forbes and the day of the terrible fight between Caroline and her. From that night on everyone was sure the Elena they knew was gone and that only a monster was left in her, but Caroline still had some hope...

Chapter 1 – The beginning

It was a nice day, the sun was shining. Caroline stepped through the entrance just like every day. When she almost arrived at her locker her mobile rang. "Hello?", she answered the phone. "Hey Care..." Caroline´s eyes widened and she stopped immediately. "I know it´s been a while and yes, last time we met was a disaster but...would you mind meeting me at the Grill? It´s kind of important...". Caroline was still shocked and her mouth popped open. "Elena?", she asked dumbfounded. Of course she already knew it was Elena on the phone, she was her best friend after all. "Uhm..sure, I mean if it´s important...when?" she mumbled. "Is now okay for you? I´d like to talk to you as soon as possible", Elena answered and Caroline nodded in agreement. "Yea, see you there", she answered when she reminded herself Elena couldn´t see her nod. Still a little shocked she hung up the phone and let out a sigh. She wasn´t able to move for a few minutes and it took some time before she finally realized what just happened. Then she turned around at her heels and left the school. In the middle of the parking lot she walked faster until she finally started running. The students at the parking lot were watching her because she looked like she went crazy, but Caroline didn´t care. She ran faster and as she passed the street in front of the Grill she almost got hit by a car. She heard a women´s scream but she didn´t care either. She wanted to hurry, she had to hurry, she couldn´t wait! She stopped in front of the door, taking a deep breath before she finally stepped through the door.  
_

Stefan and Rebekah were standing at the parking lot, talking about anything and everything, when Caroline left the school. Rebekah noticed her first because Stefan was standing with the back to the school and she looked at him. Curious she watched her, wondering why she left the school right after she entered it. Stefan who was looking at Rebekah turned around when he saw her strange face. He searched the parking lot for anything special when Rebekah interrupted his thoughts. "What is it with Caroline? Look at her face, she looks shocked, now doesn´t she?", she said. Finally Stefan noticed Caroline and he saw what Rebekah was talking about. He was worried about her because she called him very often lately and left strange voice-mails but he didn´t call her back once. He didn´t even know why, he just didn´t. Suddenly Caroline started running what made Stefan even more worried. He and Rebekah looked at each other with opened mouths and started running after Caroline at the same time. They stopped at the street in front of the Mystic Grill. Rebekah screamed and grabbed Stefan´s arm when a full speeding truck almost hit Caroline, while Stefan´s heart stopped for one heartbeat. Of course they knew nothing could happen to Caroline because she was a vampire and with that almost immortal but still: if you see a friend almost being hit by a car you can´t help but being scared. Relieved that nothing happened Stefan and Rebekah sighed concurrently and they followed Caroline who just stepped through the door of the Grill.  
_

When Caroline entered the Grill, her heartbeat finally slowed down. It always did when she came here. The Mystic Grill was something like her second home. She spent most of her time here and many memories were made in here. She smiled slightly when she thought about the many events that took place here. She searched the room for Elena but she couldn´t find her. Maybe she wasn´t there already but that didn´t make any sense, after Elena was the one who asked her to meet her at the Grill right now. Suddenly she saw a waving hand and she focused on the girl who waved her. Caroline´s eyes widened and her mouth popped open when she noticed that it was Elena. With a racing heart she went to her table, still gazing at her like she was an alien. "Your hair...Elena you...what..?", Caroline stammered. "I coloured it...and cut it", Elena answered and a shy smile appeared on her face. And it was true, Elena´s normally straight brown hair was now curled and in the big curl at the left side of her head were some red streaks. "Thanks for coming Care, it really means a lot to me!", Elena began "Please, have a seat", she added with a smile and Caroline sat down.  
_

Stefan and Rebekah, who watched the whole scene from the bar, decided to take a seat somewhere Elena and Caroline wouldn´t notice them and they started listening carefully...  
_

"So...what is it you wanted to talk about?", Caroline asked insecure. She still wasn´t sure what this was about and if this might be a trap. "Well I know the last time we saw each other was a little...you know. And I´m really sorry, for being an emotionless bitch.", Elena started "And the reason I wanted to talk to you is...I turned my emotions back on!", she added. She watched Caroline´s face and she was a little uncertain what she was thinking right now. "You don´t seem surprised", Elena noticed bewildered. "Well I noticed no one was bitten or lying dead on the ground so I assumed something might have changed", Caroline answered, smiling slightly. Elena chuckled and Caroline was sure. She didn´t see that smile for a really long time and now she was sure Elena wasn´t lying. An awkward silence came between them. "Come on Care, I know you...you want to know why I changed my mind, right?", Elena broke the silence. Caroline nodded and she smiled shyly. "Wait, don´t tell me! I´ve got an idea!", Caroline interrupted Elena who just opened her mouth to say something. "I´ll organize a girls night with Bonnie. Then you´ll tell us everything, okay? My house, 6pm", Caroline added while she stood up and grabbed her school bag. Elena smiled, relieved that Caroline forgave her without even flinching. "Will we also talk about you and hybrid number one?", Elena teased her. Yes, she hasn´t been in Mystic Falls for ages now but she was sure that this hadn´t changed. Caroline tried not to laugh but she couldn´t hold herself from a slight smile while she mumbled "Shut up!".  
_

"What does she mean with that? Do you know something about Nik and Caroline?", Rebekah asked protective. Of course she knew her brother had a thing for the other blonde, but she would always protect her brother. "I don´t know, why don´t you ask her yourself?", Stefan teased Rebekah and he kissed her on her cheek. "Don´t be mean, you know they don´t like me!", Rebekah moaned without being able not to smile because of the kiss. "Hey, I didn´t know you two were here", Caroline interrupted them. She stood in front of their table, beaming at them. Just when Rebekah wanted to say something, Caroline interrupted her again. "Oh Rebekah, we´re doing a girls night at my house tonight. Wanna come?", Caroline asked, smiling politely at the blonde Original. "Uhm...who else will be there?", Rebekah asked a little perplexed, while pretending she did not hear a word of Caroline and Elena´s conversation. "That would be you, Bonnie, Elena and me" Caroline smiled bright. "Elena?", Stefan asked curious. Rebekah chuckled lightly because Stefan was a really good actor. "Yes! Oh my god, you won´t believe it – her emotions are back on! Isn´t that amazing?", Caroline shrieked while clapping her hands in excitement. "That actually is amazing Caroline", Stefan answered smiling. "So will you come? It will be way more fun with the four of us!", Caroline looked at Rebekah. "Okay fine, I´ll be there", Rebekah answered and even though she tried to hide it, there was the shine of anticipation and pride in her eyes. "Oh great! At my house, 6pm. Oh and better bring stuff for a sleep-over-party, okay?", Caroline beamed at Rebekah and in less than a second she was gone. Now Stefan and Rebekah were alone again and they burst into laughter. "Bravo, very good acting Mr Salvatore", Rebekah chuckled and Stefan laughed out loud. "You´re making some friends, I´m proud of you", he teased her while kissing her cheek again. "You´re mean", Rebekah answered laughing. But he was right, she never had any friends, just her brothers. Certainly she was very proud that Caroline invited her to spend the evening with them...  
_

Caroline left the grill with a smile on her face. Since she caught up that Rebekah and Stefan were dating, she started warming up for Rebekah. Yes, she didn´t really like Rebekah but in the end Stefan was her best friend and she wanted him to be happy. Moreover Rebekah was just a girl like her and the only reason she didn´t like her was because she was after Tyler. But after that didn´t mind anymore, she didn´t see a reason to hate her. Yes, this evening would be a good one, she was sure of that. Just this moment Caroline´s thoughts got interrupted when she bumped into someone. "God, I´m sorry, I didn´t see you...", she started excusing. "Don´t worry love, I´m not that easy to hurt", a man´s voice answered and she could hear the smile. Perplexed Caroline raised her head and she suddenly went pale.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Elena´s story

"When will Elena finally tell us what this night is about?", Bonnie asked excitedly. Elena, Caroline and her were sitting on Caroline´s bed. They had the house for themselves because Caroline´s mother had work to do, like always. "Not yet, I told you we´ll wait until Rebekah arrives", Caroline explained. Bonnie rolled her eyes on her friend and Elena nervously played with her hair. She didn´t expect Rebekah to come. She didn´t like the Original but furthermore she felt uncomfortable about telling her the story. But Caroline made clear that Rebekah was pretty nice and that this would be a good evening. Caroline heard a parking car and she jumped from her bed. "There she is! You guys: play nice and just give her a chance, okay?", she looked at her friends with a serious face and they just nodded in agreement. Caroline smiled and she walked out of the room. Slowly Bonnie and Elena followed her, not really happy about the arrival of the fourth girl. Caroline was waiting in front of the door until it knocked. She took a deep breath, smiled friendly and opened the door. "Hey Rebekah, it´s good to see you...", she started when her face suddenly fell down. Bonnie and Elena tried to resist their laugh. "You like running into Original hybrids, don´t you love?", a smiling Klaus was standing in front of Caroline. She blushed immediately and she quickly looked to the ground. "What do you want?", she asked with a hard voice, what didn´t impress Klaus at all. He was smiling even brighter and he answered: "Oh well, my sister told me you´re doing a girls night and she asked me to drive her". Now Caroline saw that he was holding a big pink bag in his hands and she assumed it couldn´t be Klaus´. Now Rebekah appeared behind him with a big box in her hands. "He´s right. Oh, I brought some champagne and some blood-bags, it´s my favourite, A negative", Rebekah smiled friendly while she pointed at the box. "...and I bought some sweets, in case you don´t have any. That´s right, isn´t it – you need sweets for a girls night, right? Well anyway...", Rebekah suddenly stopped. Perplexed she looked at Caroline. "What is it?", Caroline asked bewildered. "I can´t get in!", Rebekah said and Caroline´s eyes widened at once. She completely forgot that! "Oh my god, I´m so sorry! Wait...I´ll just call my mom to invite you in", Caroline mumbled, while she quickly searched the house for her mobile, what made Klaus laugh quietly. He found her adorable when she got nervous...well honestly he always found her adorable. Elena cleared her throat, what interrupted Klaus´ thoughts. Caroline had obviously found her mobile and she whispered "I´m so, so sorry!", while looking at his sister. "I don´t want to interrupt you love, but where should I put this?", Klaus asked and he pointed at the pink bag in his hand. He never got why his sister´s stuff always had to be pink, it was such an awful colour. "Oh, in Caroline´s room. You could give it to me, I´ll put it there", Elena offered politely. Of course she knew that Klaus wasn´t able to get into the house, because he was a vampire and he wasn´t invited in. Klaus smiled mischievously because now he knew that Caroline kept it a secret. Even better, he thought as he decided to tease her a little. Caroline looked at the two Originals in front of the door while talking to her mom and when she saw Klaus´ smile, she knew what he was about to do. "No, no, no, don´t...", she said quickly but Klaus already stepped through the door. He laughed slightly when he walked towards her room to put the bag in it. When he came back his sister was still standing in front of the door, gazing at him like he was an alien. He took the box from her and when he went to Caroline´s room again, he couldn´t hold himself from smiling about the dumbfounded faces of Bonnie and Elena. When he came back the second time, he watched Caroline giving her phone to his sister, who smiled and said: "Thank you Sherriff Forbes". Then she gave the phone back to Caroline and finally stepped through the door. Klaus noticed Caroline´s deadly glare on him so he went outside but he turned around once again. "Oh and Caroline", he started. Caroline shyly looked up to him and he added with a mischievous smile: "I see you kept the present. It was easy to find after your room didn´t change since the last time". The three other girls´ mouths popped open and Caroline blushed immediately. "Shut up!", she hissed with an indignant face, before she slammed the door right in front of Klaus´ face. But his smile only got even brighter and he added loudly: "I´ll see you tomorrow Caroline!"  
_

Caroline slammed the door and took a deep breath, before she turned around just to look into three questioning faces. "What? It´s nothing special...", she said. The three girls tried to resist their laugh and Caroline rolled her eyes on them. That was truly embarrassing and she was sure she couldn´t escape this topic anymore. "I´ll see you tomorrow Caroline!", Klaus said loudly from outside and Caroline froze in her movement. She had already heard those words from his mouth once. It was the day of their date...well it wasn´t really a date, it was just in exchange for one of his hybrids. Moreover it was the Miss Mystic Falls pageant and you couldn´t call that a date either. Why was she even thinking about this? The three other girls couldn´t resist their laugh anymore, so they burst into laughter at once. Suddenly Caroline remembered that she wasn´t alone and she blushed immediately – she was sure she would invent new shades of red this day. Ashamed she speeded to her room, followed by three laughing and giggling girls.  
_

They sat down at Caroline´s bed, while Caroline quickly looked at the present, which was lying on her bedside table. She wasn´t sure if she should put it away because there were two other vampires in the room, who would notice that. She just didn´t want anyone to find it because...actually there was no reason for that – no one knew that it was a present from Klaus. "What was that about?", Bonnie interrupted her thoughts. Three prying pairs of eyes looked at Caroline, who pretended she didn´t know what Bonnie was talking about. "What do you mean?", she asked innocently. She knew she was a bad liar and she knew her friends would notice it right away. "You know exactly what I mean", Bonnie said while lifting one eyebrow. "That was...nothing...", Caroline muttered, feeling the gazes on her skin. "For god´s sake, we´re here to talk about Elena, now aren´t we?!", she tried to defend herself. "Right, I´ll tell you everything...IF", Elena pointed out "You, little Miss Caroline will tell us what´s going on between you and hybrid number one". Caroline´s eyes widened. She didn´t want to talk about THAT. And anyway, why did Elena always call him _hybrid number one_?! Yes, he was a hybrid, the first of his kind to be exact, but he still had a name after all. What? Stop Caroline, you don´t have to defend him! "Fine", she finally gave in because she wanted to hear Elena´s story. "So what is the secret? What is this night about?", Bonnie asked excitedly. She knew that Elena´s emotions were back on but she didn´t know why, just like Caroline and Rebekah. "Right, you want to know why I turned my emotions back on...", Elena started. Rebekah became really quiet because she didn´t know anything about these girls. She was pretty nervous but she was happy to be a part of this. "So, four months ago I left Mystic Falls and I went to New York. I always wanted to see it, so I lived there for a while. One day, it must have been around the first week, I went to a park in a little town near New York. I sat down at a bench to wait for the proper...meal to walk by, when I heard a man´s voice", Elena explained. Rebekah grabbed a pillow and hugged it, while Bonnie lay down at Caroline´s lap. "What did the man say?", Caroline asked excitedly. "_Elena?_ nothing more, just my name. But it was enough, I knew who it was right away. It was Elijah", Elena nervously looked at Rebekah. She knew that the blonde Original would always protect her brothers and after Elijah was one of them, she didn´t know how she would react. "I looked at him and he smiled friendly at me. I didn´t smile back, I didn´t want to smile but I felt the urge to do it though. That was the point where my humanity tried to come through the first time. Of course Elijah noticed that I wasn´t myself anymore. I mean, the last time we saw each other, I was still human...". Elena smiled slightly when she thought about it. "Well to make it short, we talked a little and when he found out that my emotions were off, he...kissed me", she added. Bonnie shrieked in excitement and Caroline clapped her hands. Shyly Elena looked at Rebekah who, to her surprise, was smiling bright. "Was it a good kiss? I mean, he looks like a good kisser", Caroline asked smiling. The three girls looked at her with raised eyebrows and Caroline chuckled lightly. "What? I don´t have anyone to kiss, you could at least tell me how it felt", she giggled. Elena smiled and she closed her eyes to remember exactly how it felt. "It felt good. I mean, when his lips touched mine I felt like...my heart was on fire. It was epic! And then it just happened, my emotions were back on", she took a deep breath before she opened her eyes again. "Oh my god, Elena this is...this is amazing!", Bonnie shrieked. "Yes it really is...and then we spent the last four months together. We talked and it was just like the time when I was still human...I felt good", Elena smiled and Caroline thought that she looked very happy. "And where is Elijah now?", Rebekah asked, obviously curious. "When I decided to come back to Mystic Falls he told me that he would come with me. You know, I fell for him instantly and he loves me and...", Elena sighed. "Wait that means my brother is back in town?", Rebekah asked excitedly. She didn´t see him for such a long time and she missed him very much, so the fact that her brother was finally back made her really happy. For a few seconds no one said anything until Caroline finally hugged Elena and whispered: "I´m so happy you´re back, I did really miss you!". She gave Elena a quick kiss on her cheek before she sat back and smiled friendly, knowing that her time had almost come to talk about Klaus...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Girls night

"Where are you going?", Elena asked when Caroline jumped of the bed. "I´m just getting some blood-bags", she answered innocently. Actually it was just a way to stall time because she got pretty nervous, now that Elena´s story came to an end. "Okay, but watch out – you may run into an Original hybrid!", Elena replied loudly and the three girls burst into laughter. Caroline quickly left the room and went to the kitchen. She took some blood-bags of the fridge and when she closed it she leaned against it. She sighed quietly and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew that her friends wanted her to talk about Klaus now and she knew what they were going to ask but she didn´t know an answer. She opened her eyes and sighed once again before she went back to her room. When she stepped through the door the three other girls were already looking at her with excited expressions on their faces. "Seriously?!", Caroline muttered and she shook her head before she finally sat down. "So...that scene earlier, I mean with Klaus – what was that about?", Elena started. "God, you seriously won´t stop asking, now will you? Okay fine: what _exactly_ do you want to know?", Caroline gave in. "Alright first: _You like running into Original hybrids_", Bonnie imitated Klaus´ British accent, not very successful. "That was...nothing. I mean yes, today I accidentally bumped into him once but that doesn´t mean anything!", Caroline quickly explained, nervously playing with her daylight-ring. She didn´t want to keep any secrets from her friends and anyway, she wasn´t even good at lying but that changed when it came to Klaus. "Let´s pretend that´s the whole story", Rebekah chuckled "Next question: why could Nik enter your house and what´s even more interesting: how did he know where your bedroom is?", she added with a sly smile and Bonnie and Elena nodded approvingly. "Fine, when Tyler bit me that night of my funeral, Klaus came to...save me. Then my mom invited him in and he came to my room to save me, what he did. And don´t even think of shrieking, because it was his and only his fault that Tyler bit me...", Caroline explained. Actually that was not the whole story. She left out the part of him showing her his kind side, telling her that there´s a whole world out there waiting for her and the...worrying intense blood-sharing afterwards. Her heart raced when she thought about that night and she kicked herself mentally for that. "But he also saved you from the car crash the other day", Rebekah mentioned and Bonnie and Elena looked at her with widened eyes. Caroline noticed that she didn´t tell anyone about that day. Rebekah only knew about it because she was in the car with her when the accident happened. But maybe it was no accident, maybe it was Klaus who stood in front of the truck to stop it...she never thought about that before. "Yes...yes he did", Caroline whispered more to herself but with two vampires in the room it wasn´t unheard. "Uuuh, you like him!", Rebekah shrieked and she hugged her pillow again. A quick smile hushed over Caroline´s face. "You do! You dooooo!", Bonnie giggled and Caroline blushed immediately. "What? No", Caroline answered a little too fast. "Caroline Forbes, don´t lie to me or I´ll let Rebekah compel it out of you!", Elena joked and the other girls laughed about it. Caroline just smiled slightly, she felt extremely uncomfortable talking about Klaus. "Okay fine, we had some...nice moments but that´s it", Caroline mumbled. "Okay I wasn´t supposed to say that and Nik will probably dagger me for that but I need to say it now: I didn´t ask him to drive me...he did. He wanted to see you, that´s why he insisted on driving me!", Rebekah explained with a soft smile. "He did?", Caroline whispered and Elena smiled lovingly when she saw her eyes sparkling...  
_

They woke up from a loud knocking at the front door. Caroline fell of the bed, in which all four of them were sleeping in. "Ouch!", she grumbled when it knocked again. "God, I´m coming!", she hissed loudly. Slowly she stood up and went to the front door. "Seriously?!", she mumbled when she opened the door. A smiling Klaus was standing in front of her what made her roll her eyes on him. "Good morning love. I´d like to take Rebekah home", he said while allowing himself a quick look on her glorious body. She was just wearing a tight top and short pyjama pants. "Well I think you don´t get the meaning of a sleep-over-party. You know what it is about? Sleeping! And now you just woke us up, right?", she asked loudly but no one answered. Klaus chuckled when he saw her face falling down. "That is not funny!", Caroline added but she couldn´t hold herself from giggling as well what made Klaus smile. He loved Caroline´s laugh and he loved it even more when he was the one who made her laugh. He remembered their first date, when they were sitting at the bench at the lake, drinking champagne. That day he read to her from her Miss Mystic Falls application and she tried to get it back. When she didn´t get it she laughed her adorable laugh and he joined her. He felt really happy that day. "So what now?", Caroline interrupted his thoughts. "Well like I said, I came to take Rebekah home but after she´s still asleep I might only take her stuff with me. Should I take it from your room?", Klaus teased Caroline. "Oh right, that was not funny! I had some serious explaining to do!", she pointed with her finger at him and he smiled again. When he was around her he just couldn´t stop smiling. "Okay, I´m sorry. Look I promise I won´t get you into trouble again", Klaus said with a calm voice and he smiled at her. Caroline´s heart jumped. God, these dimples! Why did he, the big bad wolf, have those incredibly cute dimples?! Stop it Caroline, you can´t go that road! She felt his soft gaze on her skin what interrupted her mental fight with herself. She looked at him and when their eyes met, her heart stopped for one heartbeat. "Uhm well...", she started, chuckling insecure. "If you´d like to wait until I woke Rebekah up, you may come in and wait in the kitchen", Caroline added. Somehow she didn´t want him to leave already. He nodded friendly and stepped through the door...  
_

Rebekah, Bonnie and Elena listened closely to everything that happened at the door, even though it was harder for Bonnie after she had no vampire-hearing. Rebekah couldn´t stop smiling, she knew exactly how much her brother liked Caroline. Then they heard Caroline closing the door and they quickly pretended to be asleep. "There you go, this is the kitchen", Caroline said and they expected her to come and wake Rebekah up now. Caroline entered her room and grabbed her clothes. When she had changed, she sat down next to Rebekah to wake her up. "Rebekah, wake up sleepy head, your brother wants to take you home", Caroline whispered and she risked a quick look through the door into the kitchen. "We know", Elena said and when Caroline turned around, Elena grabbed her shoulders what made her scream out loud. Of course Klaus heard her scream and he jumped of the chair in the kitchen immediately. In less than a second he was in Caroline´s room, just to see three laughing girls and a shocked Caroline. "How could you?!", she hissed. "Nik", Rebekah said loudly, beaming at him. Caroline turned her head immediately and looked at him. He couldn´t take his eyes of her when he said: "I heard your scream, is everything alright love?". Caroline just nodded and when no one said anything, Klaus took that as a sign to leave the room, so he went back to the kitchen. On his way he listened closely to what Caroline said. "Why did you do that?", she whispered. "I wouldn´t have scared you if it wouldn´t have been so easy. You were just too distracted by gazing in the kitchen to notice me", that was the doppelganger. "I wasn´t gazing in the kitchen! I just woke Rebekah up, that´s all!", Caroline hissed quietly. Obviously she didn´t want him to hear this conversation. "But before you did that you took your time to change your clothes and to make your hair – for the kitchen!", the witch chuckled. Klaus smiled bright when he heard that and he sat down at the chair again. "Oh shut up", he heard Caroline whispering and his heart jumped when he noticed the smile in her voice...  
_

Klaus felt like he´s been waiting for ages until his sister finally entered the kitchen. "Why do you want me to take you home, when you need almost an hour to get ready, Bekah?", Klaus grumbled. After all the centuries of travelling with his only sister he was used to it, but he still found it annoying that she needed so much time to get ready. "Morning Nik", Rebekah beamed at him "I wanted you to spend some time with your dearest vampire-love", she playfully added. Klaus let out a deep growl what didn´t impress his sister at all. The witch and the doppelganger entered the kitchen and Klaus gave them a fake smile. He didn´t like each of them. Then Caroline came into the kitchen and he smiled at her. When she gave him a slight smile his heart stopped for a heartbeat. She took two blood-bags of the fridge and gave them to his sister and the doppelganger. Then she gave Bonnie...whatever that was and she took two more blood-bags out of it. "Here", she said shortly, while giving him one of them. He was surprised but he took it with a thankful smile and when he accidentally touched Caroline´s hand, he felt waves of electricity rush through his body. He instantly looked up to her. For a few seconds they just looked at each other with a burning gaze but then Caroline quickly pulled her hand away and looked at the ground. When the doppelganger cleared her throat he remembered that they were not alone. He quickly opened his blood-bag and took a sip of it. "I think we should go shopping!", Bonnie interrupted the awkward silence. "Yes but Mr Early here wants to take Rebekah home so...", Caroline answered with a quick look at Klaus. "He could drive us, couldn´t you Nik?", Rebekah said with a pleading face. She was finally making some friends and it felt so good spending some time with other girls. Klaus rolled his eyes on her and he wanted to tell her that he wasn´t their chauffeur, but then he looked at Caroline and he couldn´t help himself. "Okay fine", he gave in. "Since when are _you_ so nice?", the witch asked uppish. He just let out a deep growl and took another sip of his blood-bag. Caroline´s eyes widened. "Would you please just stop?! Both of you!", she ordered and Klaus lowered his head resulting, wondering about his own weakness. "Fine then. Let´s go!", Rebekah said cheery.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – God damn you´re beautiful

Caroline sat next to Klaus in the front, looking out of the window. Actually she wanted to sit next to Rebekah but when she opened the door of Klaus´ black SUV, Elena vamp-speeded to the empty seat next to Rebekah. Caroline rolled her eyes when she thought about that obvious move. She knew that Elena did it to tease her after she didn´t even like Rebekah. It became really quiet in the car and Caroline felt rather uncomfortable. Suddenly Klaus turned on the radio, obviously bothered by the awkward silence. _Oh my heart skips a beat but there´s really only one thing to say. _Caroline quietly hummed the melody. _God damn you´re beautiful to me, you´re everything, yeah that´s beautiful_. Klaus risked a quick look at Caroline who was humming the song so beautifully. _I can't find the words to explain, just how much you got me going insane. _He smiled slightly when he noticed how fitting this song was to him and Caroline. He told her very often what he liked about her but he never found the right words to say what he was really feeling_. 'Cause even when you just walk by, well I look around to seem occupied. 'Cause I'm trying so hard to hide, yeah, all of these feelings inside. _Caroline gazed at Klaus, who was smiling his incredibly cute smile. Her heart raced when she thought about how fitting these words were to what she felt. Wait, did she actually just think that? Her heart jumped when Klaus´ and her eyes met. For a moment they just looked at each other but then she quickly looked out of the window again. Confused she noticed that her heart was racing like hell, feeling like it was on fire.  
_

Elena didn´t like Rebekah very much but she tried to play nice. Somehow it was important to Caroline and furthermore she was Elijah´s sister so they had to get along. She didn´t like Klaus either because of all the horrible things he had done, but in the end she was really not the one to judge. Moreover Caroline seemed to like him, even though she wouldn´t admit it yet. Elijah told her that Klaus would never let anything bad happen to Caroline and she trusted Elijah - she always did. Interested she looked at Klaus who just turned on the radio. To her surprise a smile hushed over his face and she was wondering if the lyrics were the reason for that. Then she looked at Caroline who risked a look at Klaus. Elena smiled slightly. Yes, Caroline obviously liked him. When they finally arrived, Rebekah tried to convince her brother to join them but he just rejected her with the words: "Come on Bekah, I´m your brother not your puppy!". He looked one last time at Caroline before he got in his car and drove away. After a quick look at Bonnie and Caroline, Elena knew exactly where they were going first. Rebekah and Caroline were talking and laughing when they went to the first shop. After all Elena and Bonnie finally started warming up to the blonde Original.  
_

"Oh aren´t those shoes lovely?", Rebekah squeaked. She took Caroline´s hand and pulled her into the shoe store. She stopped in front of a black pair of ballerinas and a huge smile appeared on her face. "I love them!", she almost whispered what made Caroline chuckle. "I think you´re in love Rebekah!", she simpered and Rebekah joined her. She took the shoes in her hands, hugged them and danced around in the room. "You´re so right, those shoes are my one and only love!", she chuckled and Caroline laughed out loud. When her stomach hurt of laughing she let herself fall on a chair. She liked Rebekah, she really did. She was just a girl like she was and she was also as crazy as she was. They had a lot more in common than Caroline would have ever imagined. Rebekah let herself fall on the chair next to her and she sighed. "This is wonderful, I love shopping with you girls", she said smiling. "I mean shopping with Nik is nice as well but he…", she added and Caroline chuckled. "Wait, Klaus went shopping with you?", she asked curious. She couldn´t imagine him doing that. "Yes, not only once. I needed someone to do this stuff with over the centuries, didn´t I?", Rebekah smiled. "You remember that dress he gave you for the ball the other day? He went shopping to buy you this", she added with a sly smile. She knew that Caroline wasn´t resistant to her brother´s charm and after the girls night she was even surer of that. Caroline closed her eyes for a moment to imagine Klaus buying her that beautiful blue dress. She smiled slightly when she saw him talking to the shop assistant, asking her to change some little things at it. He was very friendly and he took his time to find the perfect dress. Suddenly the sound of a little bell interrupted her thoughts. She opened her eyes immediately and when she looked up she saw Bonnie standing in front of her. "Hey little daydreamer, here´s your coffee", she said smiling, giving Caroline a coffee. "Thanks", Caroline mumbled, taking a sip of it. Elena gave Rebekah a cappuccino and she smiled friendly when Rebekah beamed at her. Rebekah bought the shoes she fell in love with before they left the store.  
_

They already had loads of shopping bags when they left a little restaurant, where they had lunch before. "This was delicious!", Rebekah said when they walked down the sidewalk. "It was! I mean those…how were they called again?", Caroline chuckled. No one of them knew that either so they all started laughing. Rebekah stopped immediately and her eyes widened. Bewildered Bonnie searched for what she was looking at. "Look at that, if that´s not my sister dearest!", a young man said, smiling mischievously. The handsome man walked up to them and Rebekah smiled bright at him. The man looked at each of them and when he saw Bonnie his smile softened. He took a step towards her, taking her hand to kiss it. "I think we haven´t met, a shame if you ask me", he said still smiling, while Bonnie slowly pulled her hand away. She found his smile extremely handsome. "My name is Kol and who are you darling?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Thoughts about you

After their shopping trip, Rebekah invited the girls to her house. They all agreed, so Kol drove them to the Mikaelson Mansion with a car that was way too small for all their shopping bags. He had followed the beautiful green eyed women called Bonnie the whole time. When they arrived at the Mansion, Rebekah wanted to show them her room. "Oh crap, I forgot my phone", Caroline suddenly said, when they were walking up the huge staircase. "No problem, I could get it", Rebekah offered but Caroline shook her head. "Thanks but I could get it myself", she answered smiling. "Okay, Kol never locks his car", Rebekah said when Caroline turned around and walked down the staircase again. When she came back with her phone she smiled slightly. He really didn´t lock his car, although it was an extremely expensive car. This guy was definitely crazy. But obviously he had enough money or...he was just capable of compelling himself what he wants. Maybe a little of both. She walked through the big hall, which she just remembered from the Mikaelson-Ball back then, when she saw a picture that was hanging on the wall. It was huge and drawn in different shades of blue, grey and black. Somehow Caroline couldn´t take her eyes of it and she tried to memorize every piece of it. She was so concentrated on the painting that she didn´t even hear Klaus entering the big hall. He was wondering why Caroline was standing in his house, staring at a picture he drew. He walked over to her to see her beautiful face. When he was right behind her she suddenly turned around and let out a scream. "God, you scared me!", she said, breathing way too fast. She put a hand on her heart which´s beat slowly calmed down. Caroline closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath before she finally looked up to Klaus, who was obviously surprised by her reaction. "Not that I´m not pleased to see you love, but what are you doing in my house?", Klaus asked with a calm voice. "Uhm...Rebekah invited us here to try on some things we bought and I just went outside to get my phone of Kol´s car and when I was about to go upstairs I saw this...", Caroline explained quickly, pointing at the picture on the wall. "Did you do this?", she asked curiously. "Yea", Klaus answered quietly, shyly looking at the ground. "I like it", Caroline said smiling and Klaus smiled back at her. He remembered the day this wolf girl Hayley came to him, hating on his art and trying to seduce him. She was obviously bothered that she couldn´t have a chance with Tyler but Klaus didn´t care. He wasn´t that easy and he told her to leave. Caroline was different, she liked his art, she was honest with him, she was everything he ever wanted. Suddenly he noticed the silence between them which somehow wasn´t awkward at all, it was nice. There wasn´t much space between them, maybe one step, maybe even less. Caroline felt his burning gaze on her skin and suddenly waves of electricity rushed through her body. Quickly she looked up to him and she lost herself in his deep blue eyes. Her eyes flipped from his eyes to his perfect lips, back to his eyes. "Now look at you two love birds", Kol´s voice broke the intense atmosphere. Perplexed Caroline looked away and Klaus´ smile disappeared. "Kol", he growled. Why did always someone or something interrupt his moments with Caroline? Now that he was making progress, his annoying younger brother broke the atmosphere. "Bekah was wondering where you went but now I...", Kol smiled mischievously. "I was on my way", Caroline threw in. Kol seemed hurt because he couldn´t end his sentence but Caroline didn´t care. She didn´t want to hear it, not from him, not from anyone. She took a quick look at Klaus before she turned around at her heels and vamp-speeded upstairs. She wasn´t sure what just happened, it was a bad thing. Klaus was the bad guy and she couldn´t go that road. This was a bad thing...but it felt so good... Suddenly she stopped in the middle of the hallway, not knowing where she actually went. Caroline brushed a streak behind her ear and concentrated to hear her friends. "I bet she´s with Klaus in this moment!", she hear Bonnie´s voice and she rolled her eyes. "She isn´t", she said with a fake smile when she opened the door to Rebekah´s room. Perplexed the three girls turned around and stared at her before they laughed. They started choosing different combinations of their clothes for a little runway-show in front of Kol. He almost begged them to do one and Caroline was sure it had something to do with Bonnie. While choosing their outfits, Caroline had fun but she was still thinking about what happened in the big hall...what she didn´t know was that Klaus was thinking about it too...  
_

In the living room Kol moved everything to make space for the runway-show. Klaus, who stood behind him, was confused. He didn´t get why women did that, it was just a waste of time. He poured himself a glass of scotch, still watching his brother moving the whole furniture. "Nik, where are the CD´s?", Kol asked his brother. Before he returned to Mystic Falls he lived in New York for a while. Now that he was back, it was really confusing to live in a house you didn´t know. He had already lived here once but not very long and it was some time ago. "You need music for a runway-show!", Kol added, rolling his eyes jokingly when he saw his brother´s bewildered face. "Right behind you", Klaus sighed. He didn´t get why his brother did all this either. When Kol found the right CD he turned on the stereo and he turned off the light. Now Klaus noticed the lights that were shining at the catwalk, how his brother used to call it. He just wanted to leave the room when Kol loudly said: "Oh don´t even try brother. If I have to do this, you do as well!". Klaus let out a deep growl but he knew it was impossible to discuss with his younger brother, so he sat down at the big U-formed black couch. Kol laughed and turned on the music. "You may come now, Bekah!", he shouted, quickly taking a seat next to Klaus, who just rolled his eyes on him. Suddenly Rebekah´s head appeared at the door. "This song is too slow, choose something faster!", she hissed and Kol did as she said. When he sat down again it finally started. First Bekah and the doppelganger walked down the catwalk and Klaus didn´t really pay attention. "This is ridiculous", he whispered, wondering why he was actually doing this. When the witch walked through the door, Kol sat straight, smiling like a lovesick puppy. The witch posed in front of them, rolling her eyes on Kol what made Klaus chuckle. Suddenly Klaus remembered that Caroline had to do this as well so he focused on the door. When she stepped through the door he smiled slightly, she was beautiful! Like a professional model she walked down the catwalk. She posed in front of them, turned around and looked back over her shoulder to wink at them. She smiled her incredibly irresistible smile before she walked back and a second later she was already through the door. Klaus felt his heart beating faster what surprised him a little. They watched two more outfits and Klaus loved every single walk of Caroline. When his sister came out in a green dress, the doppelganger in a red one and the witch in a white one, he couldn´t wait to see Caroline. When she stepped through the door, his mouth popped a bit open in awe. She was wearing a dark blue dress which ended over her knees. It was tight to her thin waist and then it lightly fell over her knees. When she turned around, Klaus had a perfect view on her back because the dress had a low valorous cut, which was decorated with hints of delicate lace. He smiled at her when she turned around once again and she shyly smiled back. Then she quickly looked to the ground and Klaus´ smile got even brighter when he saw her blushing. Suddenly Kol jumped of the couch to applaud. Klaus clapped his hands as well, just not as extreme as his brother did. "So that´s it?", he asked smiling while he stood up. "It is!", Bonnie answered. Klaus strolled over to Caroline when he noticed her worried face. "Did you hear that?", she suddenly asked and to his surprise she stepped a little closer to him. He concentrated and he heard steps in the big hall. At once he closed the distance between him and Caroline, stepping protectively in front her. They all turned their heads when someone entered the living room.  
_

A huge smile appeared on Elena´s face. "Elijah", she whispered before she ran into his arms. Elijah held her tight before he looked at her and kissed her lovingly. "I missed you", he whispered into her ear and she smiled at him like she hadn´t seen him for weeks. Just then Elijah noticed his brothers´ astonished faces and he had to keep himself from laughing. "Elijah?", Kol asked, obviously confused. "Hello everyone, brothers, sister", Elijah said in his normal calm voice. Rebekah vamp-speeded to him and hugged him, he really missed her. Kol shook his hand and Klaus, to his surprise, smiled at him. Elijah smiled slightly when he saw his brother standing in front of Caroline, ready to protect her. Obviously he still had a crush on the blonde vampire. "Oh crap!", Caroline threw out. "I need to go home, my mom wants to have a family dinner because she has no work today", she added and in a blink she was gone. Elijah heard her running upstairs what wondered him but when he looked around her assumed the four girls had one of his sister´s runway-shows. He was surprised by the fact that Rebekah obviously found some friends because those three girls didn´t like her that much. But he was also very pleased by that - he wanted Elena to get along with his siblings. Lovingly he put his arm around her waist, bringing her closer to him. Suddenly Caroline was back, holding a bunch of shopping bags in her hands. "Thank you for the beautiful day Rebekah, it was really fun!", she said while hugging Rebekah. "I´m the one to thank you, for inviting me I mean. Maybe we could do that again soon", Rebekah answered, smiling bright. "Yea that would be very nice", Caroline said with a quick look at Niklaus, who smiled slightly. Elijah was sure that no one was supposed to notice this quick look so he shut his mouth for now. He decided to talk with his brother someday soon. Then Caroline hugged her friends Bonnie and Elena. When they heard the sound of a car horn, Caroline grabbed her shopping bags and she left the Mansion with a short "Bye" on her lips. When the car drove away, Kol started teasing Klaus. "So Nik, now that your beloved is gone you may stop smiling, it must be painful for you to do that all the time!", he giggled. Klaus just smacked his younger brother on the back of his head and left the room. Everyone looked at Kol with judging faces. "What?! It´s true, isn´t it?", Kol tried to defend himself. Well that will be fun, Elijah thought before her slowly took Elena´s face in his hands and kissed her deeply.  
_

"I still don´t get it honey", Liz started talking on their way home. "A member of the Original family is your new friend?", she asked confused. "Yes Mom. But Rebekah is really nice if you know her and she´s just a girl like me and Elena", Caroline defended her new friend. She left out Bonnie´s name on purpose because she knew what her mother would answer then. She would say that Bonnie wasn´t a vampire like her and Elena and that would just end in arguing. "Moreover Stefan in so in love with her, I could see that easily. You know Stefan, he´s got a good heart", she added and Liz just nodded. "Oh honey, Tyler was here today, he wanted to see you", she changed the subject carefully. Caroline´s face got serious and she asked: "Well, what did you say to him?". Her mother smiled lovingly. "I told him to go to hell and never come back again!", she said smiling what made Caroline chuckle slightly. She remembered the night she caught Tyler cheating on her with this little wolf-bitch Hayley and she broke up with him right away. She was over him for a long time now but she still didn´t want to talk to him. After she broke up with him, Tyler and Hayley left town together so she didn´t get why he came back now, wanting to talk to her. She just rolled her eyes. It was a long time ago now and to be honest, their relationship didn´t really work before that either. She searched for the reason for that and her smile disappeared immediately when she found it. The day she met Klaus, everything started to change. Her eyes widened in shock about her own thoughts. She looked out of the window but she caught herself thinking about how Klaus looked at her at her last walk...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Look behind the facade

Klaus went into the kitchen the next day because he was hungry. He hadn´t killed anyone for a while now and somehow he didn´t regret that. He didn´t drink straight from the vein either what was strange for him. When he thought about it he noticed that he changed very much lately. He shook his head to free his mind of those thoughts. When he took a blood-bag of the fridge he smiled instinctively. He thought about the moment his and Caroline´s hands striped and he could swear that something striped his hand just like the day before. He shivered slightly when he noticed that this was just his memory. Suddenly the sound of a parking car interrupted his thought and he wasn´t sure if he was mad or happy about it. He was just on his way upstairs because he didn´t want to talk to his younger brother now but suddenly it knocked. Bewildered Klaus turned around and stared at the front door. He thought that it would be Kol who came back from his trip to the Mystic Grill but Kol would never knock. Slowly he walked to the front door and when he opened it his heart jumped what truly confused him. "Oh...uhm hey, is Rebekah home? She asked me to meet her, you know to plan the prom...", Caroline said smiling. "I´m sorry but she left over an hour ago. She said she needed a new curling-iron or something", Klaus explained, smirking down at Caroline who stood there, not actually knowing what to do now. "You may wait inside love, I´m sure Bekah will be there soon", he added, stepping beside so Caroline could enter. The beautiful blonde just smiled and nodded in agreement before she stepped through the door. "Thanks", she mumbled, watching Klaus closing the door. She followed him into the living room, trying to keep her mouth closed. The living room, which she had only seen in black the day before, was a huge room with big windows on the wall. She slowly walked around, trying to memorize every detail of the beautiful and tastefully decorated room. "How many innocent people did you compel for _this_?", Caroline asked, smiling slightly at Klaus who was watching her interestedly. "No one love, this is my work", he answered, looking down. "Do you like it?", he asked carefully. Somehow he was extremely nervous and he felt really weak. "If I like it? God, this is awesome!", Caroline babbled. "You´re truly talented", she added when she noticed another drawing on the wall. She walked towards it and looked at it, her mouth open in awe. The painting wasn´t big, maybe as big as a couch pillow. At the first look it looked completely black but when she took a closer look, she saw that it wasn´t black at all. It was drawn in different shades of dark brown and grey. The brushstroke looked like hair and when she looked closer she noticed it was fur. On the left she found something that looked like a nose of a dog and over that she saw a frightening real looking eye. Caroline was fascinated so by the painting, she didn´t notice Klaus standing right behind her. "A hybrid", Caroline breathed. Klaus looked at her in surprise, no one ever noticed that. "Most people think it´s just a black paper", Klaus said, still watching the blonde vampire interestedly. Caroline just shook her head. "It´s so much more than that", she started. "You have to look very closely and maybe you find something what no one sees...something beautiful", she whispered, turning around to look at Klaus. She didn´t know if Klaus knew she didn´t only mean the painting with that, she wasn´t even sure if she wanted him to know that. Just then she noticed how close they were standing and her heart started racing immediately. Klaus just looked down at her with his deep blue eyes. He loved how Caroline´s blonde curls cascaded her shoulders and how she nervously bit her lips. Caroline´s heart bumped so fast that she thought it would explode any second. She kicked herself mentally when the thought of kissing Klaus came into her mind. She couldn´t kiss him, that was wrong...or wasn´t it? She wondered when she started feeling like that for him. Actually she´s always been attracted to him, not only because of the obvious physical aspects. He was a truly handsome man with amazing deep blue eyes, full lips and seriously cute dimples. But also because she has seen his kind, human side. For some reason Klaus let Caroline see behind his facade and she liked what she saw. For every harm that he´d done, she could find a reason. He was lost and she felt the urge to help him. She blinked a few times to vanish those thoughts from her mind but it didn´t really work out. Caroline didn´t know when exactly she started liking him but she knew that over the years her feelings for him, whatever they meant, have grown immensely. "Caroline?", a voice broke the atmosphere.  
_

Stefan and Rebekah were about to enter the Mansion when Stefan grabbed Rebekah´s hand, zestfully turned her around and kissed her deeply. "I love you", he whispered what made Rebekah smile. "I love you more", she answered before she kissed him once again. "You know that isn´t possible", Stefan said grinning and Rebekah chuckled while they entered the Mansion. She let go of Stefan´s hand, she didn´t want anyone of her family to know about them already. Stefan just rolled his eyes on her and they went to the living room. When they stepped through the door their mouths popped open. "Caroline?", Stefan asked confused when he saw Caroline standing less than a step away from Klaus. Caroline quickly turned her head. "Stefan?", she asked before she looked quickly back to Klaus, noticing how close they were standing. She quickly walked towards the door to hug Rebekah and Stefan. Klaus rolled his eyes – again, he was making progress and then... Klaus´ thoughts got interrupted when he saw Caroline hugging Stefan, for his taste way too long. He felt a wave of jealousy rushing through him. "Klaus", Stefan greeted him with a hard voice. "What do you want mate?", Klaus asked without being able to hide the jealousy in his voice. "Stefan just gave me a ride home and I asked him to stay a while", Rebekah said quickly, noticing the nasty atmosphere between them. "Why are you here, Caroline?", Rebekah asked a little surprised but also to change the subject. "Uhm...well you asked me to meet you here to plan the prom...", Caroline reminded her bewilderedly. "No I didn´t", Rebekah answered, even more confused than before. "Yes you did, you texted me to...", Caroline started but then her eyes widened and she stopped in the middle of the sentence. "Kol", she sighed and just this second the young Original stepped through the door. "You´re right darling", Kol applauded, smirking mischievously. "I just wanted you two love birds to spend some time together", he added, obviously proud of himself. Klaus didn´t know if he should feel happy or mad about this. He wanted to spend time with Caroline but he did not appreciate the fact his brother teased her. "God Kol, go and fall on a dagger or something", Caroline said, rolling her eyes on the young Original. "Now look at this, sweet little Caroline and Nik – Beauty and the beast, don´t you think?", Kol chuckled, ignoring Klaus´ deadly glare on him. Caroline tried to calm herself down but what was enough was enough. She vamp-speeded to the surprised Original, grabbed him by his throat and pushed him against the wall. She bared her sharp canines and the veins under her eyes made them look dark and dangerous. Everyone in the room stared at her with opened mouths, unable to move. Even Kol was so surprised that he forgot he was an Original and way stronger than Caroline, who was just a young vampire. "Okay, okay I´m quiet!", Kol croaked because Caroline didn´t really leave him space for breathing. Slowly she let go of Kol, taking a deep breath to normalize her face. She turned around when Kol added "Cute baby vampire could get aggressive". Caroline turned around right away, her face already transformed to the vampire look, ready to attack. But when she tried to grad Kol again, two hands held her back on her shoulders. Furiously Caroline turned around, a creepy hissing noise leaving her throat. It was Klaus who held her shoulders and when she looked up to him she saw the amazement in his eyes. Slowly her breath slowed down and her face normalized to a human look. Klaus was still holding her shoulders and when he looked her in the eyes, Caroline´s anger slowly disappeared. "What´s going on in here?", they heard Elijah´s voice. He and Elena just entered the living room and they were obviously confused by the situation. Both of them looked from the smirking Kol, over Rebekah´s and Stefan´s bewildered faces, to Klaus who was holding Caroline´s shoulders. "Oh those two love birds here...", Kol started, interrupting himself with bursting into laughter when he saw Caroline flinching. Klaus, who felt the little flinch of Caroline, quickly looked down to her and he saw how her eyes slowly filled with tears. He himself was so angry but all that disappeared right away when he saw Caroline being hurt. Caroline quickly looked up to Klaus before she turned around at her heels and ran out of the room. Klaus opened his mouth to say something but because he didn´t know anything that wouldn´t make the situation worse, he closed it right away. Stefan walked behind Caroline and Rebekah turned her face to Kol. "See what you´ve done you bloody idiot!?", she hissed before she followed Stefan. "I don´t know what´s going on but you better think of a huge excuse!", Elena glared at Kol before she left the room as well, leaving the three Original brothers alone. Klaus actually wanted to dagger Kol right now but he felt like his anger was wrapped in cotton wool. He couldn´t move, he couldn´t think, he was just so worried about Caroline. He never saw her freak out like that, neither did he see her vampire face. He knew it was wrong but he liked the look of her vampire face, her dangerous side. It was kind of mysterious and he liked that. The noise that came of her throat sounded threatening, like she was out of control, ready to attack, ready to kill. But he couldn´t help noticing that, when he looked her in the eyes, she calmed down. He could see the guilt in her eyes, and her own surprise about herself. She was good, her heart was good, he knew that. Klaus shook his head to vanish the thoughts from his mind, concentrating on being worried again.  
_

"Caroline!", Stefan called when he followed Caroline out of the Mansion. She was still running when he heard her saying: "Go away". It was so quiet, he had to concentrate to understand it. "Oh come on, Care...", he started. "Just go away, Stefan! You haven´t been there for me the last months, when I really needed you, so don´t pretend to be a friend now!", Caroline yelled at Stefan. Furiously she turned around and Stefan saw that she was crying. He was flashed, he didn´t know what to say. Had he really been such a horrible friend? He remembered all the voice-mails and that he didn´t call her back once. Suddenly Rebekah ran past him to Caroline and Stefan felt a hand on his shoulder. "She´s hurt, give her some time", Elena whispered, smiling at him. Stefan nodded for an answer, taking a last look at Caroline before he finally walked back to the Mansion. Elena went to the other girls who finally stopped running. "Come on Care, let´s sit down and talk, okay?", Elena suggested and when Caroline nodded slightly, the three girls sat down at a bench near the Mansion. "What was that about?", Rebekah pointed back at the Mansion, giving Caroline a tissue. "I don´t...know...", Caroline sobbed, whipping her tears away. She didn´t know what came over her, she never let herself get that angry and she never attacked anyone just like that. She felt the disgust inside herself when she thought about the noise that came out of her throat. "It´s just that...", Caroline sniffed. "There was Kol and he was being an ass and then I just...lost my mind!", Caroline sighed slightly. "That was so embarrassing!", she moaned into her tissue. "I mean did you see? I almost attacked Klaus also although he just tried to calm me down", she said quietly. She felt extremely surprised and also disgusted by herself. Not just because of what she did but also because she liked the effect she had on Klaus. When she looked up to him she saw amazement in his eyes and that rushed waves of electricity through her body. "Hey, everyone freaks out sometimes. If you don´t, something´s wrong with you", Rebekah said smiling. "Rebekah´s right", Elena said smiling. "Nobody blames you, if it´s anyone´s fault, it´s Kol´s", she added and Rebekah nodded in agreement. "Come on, let´s go back inside. You could sleep here if you want to", Rebekah suggested and Caroline looked up from her tissue with widened eyes. "I know you don´t want to but I need to tell you something and I can´t wait", Rebekah added with a hopeful smile. "Okay fine. But I´m doing this just because we´re friends and because I love you", Caroline gave in, smiling friendly. Rebekah smiled brightly, obviously proud that Caroline called her a friend, before she hugged her. "Aw, you guys are too cute!", Elena said smiling. "Let´s go inside, I´m getting hungry", she added giggling and even Caroline smiled slightly when they went back to the Mansion.  
_

Klaus was sitting on the staircase, watching Elijah walking up and down the hall. "You´re truly an idiot, aren´t you?!", he ranted to Kol who wasn´t showing any guilt. Stefan was standing in the corner of the room, looking absentminded. "When they...no, _if _they come back you _will _excuse for your behaviour and then you´ll play nice, do you understand me?!", he added, finally stopping in front of his younger brother. "Fine. Look, I promise brother", Kol defending held his hands in the air. Klaus snorted in unbelief but his brother didn´t care at all. When the door slowly opened, all four heads flipped to the door. Klaus relaxed when he saw Caroline slowly walking behind his sister, looking to the ground. He was pleased she came back, although he did notice she looked insecure and that her hands were slightly trembling. Elijah lightly smacked Kol at his head who immediately threw out: "I´m sorry for my rude behaviour, Caroline". Caroline looked up to him and Klaus felt like something inside of him broke. She cried, she obviously cried outside. Was this his fault? Was it the way he looked at her when he saw her vampire face or was it her own surprise about herself? He wanted to know and he wanted to ask her so badly but he kept his mouth shut to see her reaction to Kol´s excuse. He saw how Caroline smiled slightly and nodded for an answer. Klaus smiled slightly, her ability to forgive people who don´t deserve it impressed him. Somehow she forgave him everything, all the horrible things he´d done. He never met a person on the time he was walking on this planet which amazed him as Caroline did. "Caroline will stay here tonight, so we need to get her stuff...", Rebekah interrupted his thoughts. "Can I take your car, Nik?", she added smiling, still proud of making a new friend. "Well I might drive you", Stefan suggested politely. "I´m afraid your car is way too small, but thanks though", Rebekah smiled lovingly at him and Stefan smirked back. "Yes sure, take it", Klaus said friendly and his heart beat faster when he saw how Caroline looked up to him. The shine in her amazing blue eyes and the smile on her perfect lips made him smile and he felt how pleasant warmth filled his body.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – When the heart decides

Later that day, Caroline was sitting on the couch in the Mikaelson Mansion, waiting for Rebekah. She just wanted to bring Stefan to his car and then they wanted to watch a movie but Caroline knew it would take some time for Rebekah to come back. She knew Stefan, he wouldn´t let her go that easily, he would kiss her and tell her that he loves her over and over again. Caroline was already wearing comfortable clothes and because she felt like she waited forever, she lay down at the heavenly comfortable couch. Klaus, who just walked into the living room, didn´t notice her lying on the couch. He went to the little bar and poured himself a glass of scotch. When he turned around he finally noticed the blue eyed beauty. When Caroline looked around, she noticed Klaus standing across the room, looking at her with those incredible deep blue eyes. She couldn´t remember him entering the room but she was too tired to think about it. "Mmh-what?", she mumbled, feeling the gaze on her skin. "You look very beautiful", Klaus answered, while he sat down at the big armchair opposite the couch. Caroline just smiled but when she tried to roll her eyes on him, she closed them instead. "Are you okay, love?", Klaus asked, still watching her closely. "Mmh-yea, I´m just terribly tired. Just of everything...planning the prom...Tyler coming back, Kol...I´m just so, so tired...", Caroline sighed slightly. "...so terribly tired...", she added so quietly, it wasn´t even a whisper. Klaus watched the young vampire falling asleep and he smiled lovingly when he saw the sudden peace in her face. The first time in his entire life, he cared about someone else than his family. His family had always been the most important thing to him, even if it didn´t always seem so. He daggered his siblings, not to get rid of them, but to protect them from their father. He put his family over everything – until he met her. Caroline changed his life, his beliefs, his feelings. She made him feel, care, love. She showed him what was wrong or right, she was honest with him and she wasn´t afraid of him. Somehow Caroline had never been afraid of him and she trusted him, forgave him...Klaus didn´t understand how she was capable of doing that after all the horror he had done. He put Caroline above all, above his own feelings, above his family, above his own life. Klaus remembered the day he saved Caroline from the car crash. Actually he was the one who caused it but just to save her from the council. He saved Caroline´s life and left his sister behind. Afterwards he felt a little guilty about it but his feelings told him that it was the right thing to do. Klaus shook his head to get back to reality. He looked at the sleeping Caroline before he stood up and covered her up lovingly, thinking she might be cold. Of course that was ridiculous because she was a vampire and vampires don´t freeze but still...For a few seconds he just stood there, admiring her in all her beauty, before he gently striped her cheek with his hand, smiling lovingly at the sleeping young vampire...  
_

Elena watched the whole scene and she couldn´t hold herself from smiling. She was truly touched by his sensitivity, she´d never seen Klaus like that, not even close. She always thought he wasn´t capable of any feelings. Elena turned around as quiet as possible and she went back upstairs to Elijah´s room. When she opened the door she saw the normally dimmed lights shining in the big room. Elijah stood in front of the huge bed, just pulling over a white shirt with a v-neck. Elena smiled slightly when he saw his firm body, before she quickly walked towards the bed. "There you are", Elijah smiled lovingly at her before he gave her a quick kiss. He sat down at the bed, leaning against the wall behind him. Interestedly he watched Elena standing awkwardly in front of the bed. "What is it dear?", he finally broke the silence. Elena opened her mouth and closed it right away, repeating the process over and over again. Finally she sat down at the bed as well and looked straight into Elijah´s eyes. "I think that...is it possible that your brother doesn´t just fancy Care? Is it possible that he actually loves her?", carefully she looked up to Elijah. She knew he was understanding and moral but Klaus was still his brother after all. But to her surprise Elijah just smiled slightly and took a deep breath. "I´d like to think so, yes. No one in this world actually knows if and what Niklaus feels...I was wondering about it myself once or twice, if my brother was even capable of real feelings...", he sighed quietly. "If you look now at him and Caroline you could easily tell he feels something for her...it´s just that no one will ever know what exactly that is", Elijah said while Elena lay down next to him, looking him in the eyes. She didn´t have to think twice at all, she trusted every word Elijah said. She always trusted him through everything and she truly loved him. Elijah smiled at Elena, thinking about how much he loved her. The first time they met, when Rose kidnapped Elena and then called Elijah, he thought that she would just be a part of a mission. But when he then stepped through the door, Elena turned around, her eyes full of fear but also surprise. Back then he couldn´t believe how similar she and Katherine looked but he started seeing how different they were. Elena was kind, caring and warm. He admired her for her compassion, for her strength, for her trust. She was the love of his life, he knew that for sure. "I love you", Elena whispered, looking him in the eyes. Elijah´s heart melt away when she said those three words. Those words out of her mouth always felt amazing but right now, they were like the most beautiful sound on earth to his ears. He needed those words in this very moment. "What is it?", Elena asked smirking, noticing that Elijah was thinking about something. She could tell he just made a decision, she could see it in his eyes. Elijah smiled lovingly at her because she knew his so well. "Marry me, Elena Gilbert"

Bonnie felt like she went crazy. She was at Mystic Grill, talking to someone from school. How could you talk about a car for 35 minutes?! Annoyed she looked at her phone again, still no sign of Caroline. For at least two hours she tried to call Caroline now because she wanted to do something, without any luck. Annoyed by the talking boy Bonnie looked around. She smiled when she saw someone playing billiards, it always reminded her of Jeremy. She felt the slight pain in her chest when she thought about him. It wasn´t as horrible as the first few weeks but it still hurt a little. You have to say your goodbyes to be able of letting go and Bonnie didn´t. She had no time to say goodbye, there was no chance. Bonnie knew that because of that she´d always have feelings for Jeremy left in her but she was ready to move on for a while now. She shook her head to free her mind from those thoughts. "Hello beautiful", she heard a man´s voice behind her she knew just too well. When she turned around she saw the young Original standing in front of her, giving her a friendly smile. Bonnie just rolled her eyes on the honestly handsome man, before she turned around and walked away from him. But in a blink Kol was already next to her and Bonnie´s eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! Someone might have seen that!", she hissed at the smirking Original. "I like you, you´re not afraid of saying what you think", Kol ignored Bonnie´s comment. "Well neither does you dear friend, what was her name again? Ah I know, Caroline", Kol smirked mischievously while he took a seat at the bar. His smile got even brighter when the beautiful green-eyed women followed him. "What do you mean?", Bonnie asked bewildered. "I see why Nik is so taken by her, well at least it´s one of the reasons...", Kol continued talking. He felt how he made the pretty witch crazy and he liked it. "Kol, what are you talking about?", Bonnie asked angrily. Kol wanted to tease her so he didn´t give an answer again but suddenly the glass of whiskey in his hand broke into pieces. Surprised he looked at Bonnie who was still eying the broken pieces. "Easy darling, someone might have seen that", he whispered jokingly. Bonnie couldn´t hold herself from a little chuckle what made Kol fall for her even more. "The lovely Caroline attacked me earlier, although I didn´t do anything", Kol started and he smiled when Bonnie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I was just telling the truth about her and Nik", he defended himself. "Oh you should have seen that! It was entertaining to see your friend freak out...", Kol burst into laughter, obviously proud of himself. Bonnie was confused, Caroline attacked Kol? She would never attack anyone just like that, especially not because she had to defend Klaus, what was an contradiction itself. Klaus, the Original, the hybrid...he was immortal and dreaded, it just didn´t make any sense. Quickly Bonnie took a seat next to Kol, who was surprised and pleased at the same time. "So Kol, tell me more about it!"  
_

"Come on, wake up Care", Elena carefully shook Caroline´s shoulder. Klaus was sitting in the big armchair opposite the couch, watching the doppelganger disapprovingly. He still didn´t get it: Caroline was sleeping so peacefully and now this little doppelganger woke her up. Caroline´s eyes fluttered lightly. "Elena?", she asked with an adorably sleepy voice. "What am I doing here? Wait...where am I by the way?", quickly Caroline sat up, trying to remember where she was. "You´re at the Mikaelson Mansion and you fell asleep waiting for Rebekah but that´s not the point...", Elena explained so fast, Caroline´s sleepy mind really needed to concentrate to get what Elena was actually talking about. "...the thing is...I am engaged!", Elena said those three words very slowly, putting a meaning behind each of it. "You´re what?!", Caroline threw out with widened eyes and even Klaus was a little surprised by that. Elena smiled shyly, not knowing what her friend was thinking about it. But suddenly Caroline let out a shriek of joy, hugging her best friend. "Oh my god! How did that...when...where...oh my god!", she shrieked, laughing with her friend. "We will tell you guys later", Elijah said smiling, entering the living room. Caroline beamed at him before she stood up and hugged Elijah quickly, who was a little surprised by that. "I´m so happy for you guys!", she said smiling when Elena hugged him lovingly and Elijah kissed her on her forehead. Klaus watched Caroline, she was so happy for her friend. Klaus heart melt away when he saw her jumping up and down, clapping her hands excitedly. "God, I´m so happy for you guys. Elena: you need to tell me everything! Oh and of course you need to tell Rebekah too, now that we are friends", she babbled. Klaus was a little surprised by that but he was pleased that Caroline and his sister were friends now, because that gave him the chance to see her more often. "What do you have to tell me?", Rebekah asked curiously while she entered the living room. "We´re engaged sister", Elijah said, smiling from one ear to the other. "You´re kidding, right?", Rebekah threw out, laughing joyfully, hugging Elena. Elena was surprised by that but she was glad that Elijah´s sister finally accepted her. "That is amazing Elena! You need to tell me everything!", Rebekah added after she hugged her brother as well. "She will have time for that tomorrow, but for the rest of this day she´s mine", Elijah said in a seducing voice what made Rebekah grimace in disgust. "Iugh, please spare me the details, you´re still my brother!", she said what made everyone laugh. Then Elijah took Elena´s hand and went out of the room. "Have fun!", Caroline shouted, bursting into laughter and Rebekah with her. "So let´s go upstairs and sleep, you look tired", Rebekah suggested when they calmed down. Caroline nodded and they agreed that Rebekah would make the room ready while Caroline would get her stuff from the couch and follow then. In a blink Rebekah was out of the room and Caroline turned around, still smiling. She shrieked when she noticed Klaus standing in the room. "Sorry...I totally forgot you were here...", Caroline excused, shyly smiling at him. "It´s no problem love", Klaus answered calmly, closing the distance between them. There was maybe one step between him and the beautiful blue-eyed women. "So...I think I´ll go upstairs then...", Caroline laughed uncertainly. Somehow she didn´t want to leave but she felt that she wouldn´t be able to resist Klaus´ charm much longer. Did she actually just think that?! Her heart beat faster when his deep blue eyes burned into hers. Caroline looked from his amazing eyes to his perfect lips and back to his eyes. She felt a burning desire coming up and her breath got slightly faster. Klaus smirked down at the blonde beauty. He didn´t want her to leave already, he just wanted to look at her. He felt how his heart beat faster when she nervously bit her perfect lips. His eyes burned into her beautiful blue eyes. He smiled slightly when Caroline´s eyes flipped from his eyes to his lips and right back. Klaus came even closer and Caroline´s breath fastened even more. She blinked a few times and looked back up to Klaus who was now only a hand away from her. Quickly he kissed her on her cheek, resting his hand on her waist. Caroline closed her eyes for the moment and she felt like her skin was on fire where he kissed her. "Sleep well sweetheart", Klaus whispered, his face only two inches away from hers. Caroline could feel his breath on her skin what rushed waves of electricity through her body. "Uhm...", she said quietly, noticing how throaty it sounded. "You too Klaus", she whispered, looking up to him through her lashes, before she slowly turned around, grabbed her stuff and went to the door. Before she stepped through it, she turned her head once again, looking at the smiling Klaus who was still standing in the middle of the room. She smiled slightly at him before she finally left the room. When she walked upstairs she closed her eyes for a moment to realize what just happened. Intentionally she striped over her cheek where she could still feel Klaus´ kiss. She smiled when she thought about how his hand touched her waist, just resting on it but making her feel save. The thought about his breath on her skin made her shiver slightly, making it impossible for her heart to calm down. And no matter how hard Caroline thought about it, she couldn´t find any reason why this was wrong. No, this wasn´t wrong...this felt like the most real and wonderful thing she ever felt...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Bad blue eyes?

Klaus was lying in his bed, unable to sleep for hours. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in the living room with Caroline. He felt how he placed his hand on her waist and how surprised he was that she didn´t move at all. He felt his heartbeat which got faster and faster with every inch he moved closer to Caroline. He heard her heartbeat which seemed like the most beautiful sound to his ears when it raced under the contact. He saw her beautiful face, her amazing eyes which burned into his. He saw how he moved closer to Caroline and how she closed her eyes a second before he kissed her on her cheek. He felt how his heart seemed to explode in that moment his lips touched her perfect skin. Sighing Klaus opened his eyes again and sat up. This was new, he didn´t know this feeling. He never wanted anything so bad in his life as he wanted Caroline. He wanted her to like him, to love him, to be with him. He longed for a kiss, a real kiss, with all his passion and all his feelings for her in it. Surprised about himself, Klaus shook his head and lay down again. But when he closed his eyes, he was back in the living room and he couldn´t do anything but feel it all again.  
_

Caroline woke up by the sun gently kissing her nose. Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she sat up. She looked at the clock – 5am, great. Rebekah was still asleep so Caroline tried to sleep again but it didn´t work out. She had too much in mind, every time she closed her eyes she felt the kiss on her cheek. She felt his hand on her waist and his perfect lips touching her skin. Caroline shook her head to vanish those thoughts from her mind immediately. After the fifth failed attempt to sleep, she sighed and went to Rebekah´s bathroom. She took a shower, changed her clothes, brushed her teeth and dried her hair. Then she went back to Rebekah´s room just to see that Rebekah was still sleeping. How could she sleep when she dried her hair? Caroline smiled slightly, shaking her head in disbelief. After a while of waiting for Rebekah to wake up, she got hungry and bored, so she decided to go downstairs to find the kitchen. Quickly she grabbed her shoes and went out of the room. When she stepped at the hallway, she silently closed the door behind her and tiptoed in the direction of the staircase. Downstairs in the big hall she finally put on her crème high heels. After a while of searching, she finally found the kitchen. She went to the fridge and searched for her favourite blood type, humming the melody she couldn´t get out of her head. When she turned around she swallowed at the sip of blood she just took. "Good morning love", Klaus said, watching Caroline worriedly who coughed a few times. "M-morning...", she stammered after she calmed down. She sat down at a chair opposite Klaus and concentrated on her breakfast. Klaus opened his mouth to say something but he didn´t know what to say, so he closed it right away. He didn´t want to make the situation even more awkward but he also urged to make her talk to him. After a few minutes Caroline couldn´t take it any longer so she looked up, noticing Klaus´ gaze on her. She wanted to look away immediately but she couldn´t. She lost herself in his deep blue eyes, which were as blue as the ocean. Caroline would give anything to see these eyes at least once a day. Wait, did she really think that? She kicked herself mentally. She couldn´t feel that way for him...or could she? She was so confused. Confused of her behaviour, confused of her feelings, confused of Klaus kissing her...at once she was back in the living room. She felt so save and good, she felt loved. Shocked she noticed that she was smiling and she slapped herself mentally for that. How could she let him kiss her? Those deep blue eyes were bad. They had seen all the horrible things he´d done, they had seen hundreds of people die...how could it be that those bad eyes were the same who looked at her in that way they looked at her now? How could it be that those eyes which were full of hunger for power once, now were full of love? "Oh, morning you two", Elena trilled who just danced into the kitchen. Surprised Caroline woke up out of her trance. "So Caroline", Elijah started, giving her a cup of coffee. When did he come in? Caroline couldn´t remember. "Did you sleep well in our Mansion?", he asked politely. She reminded herself that she had to talk now, so she tried her best to grab a clear thought. "Yea, I slept really well, thanks", she lied smiling. "That´s great, because we thought you might wanna stay here ´til the wedding", Elena beamed at her. There was a loud breaking noise and everyone looked at Caroline in surprise. She was holding only the cup handle in her hand, the rest was standing at the table in front of her. She ripped it off, just like that. With widened eyes she stared at the broken cup. "I-I´m sorry", she stammered excusing. Klaus was just as surprised as Caroline but he didn´t expect her to be that shocked. "What did I miss?", Rebekah entered the kitchen, confusedly looking at the broken cup. "We just asked Caroline to live her in the Mansion until the wedding", Elijah explained smiling, ignoring the cup. "Oh yes, please do that! We could plan the prom whenever we want to!", Rebekah babbled excitedly. "Please Care, you might help us with planning the wedding. You know I suck at planning events. And it would be nice to know you´re just next door...", Elena said in a pleading voice. Caroline looked around into the pleasing faces and when she looked at Klaus she smiled slightly. "Okay fine", she gave in and these words inflamed a firework in Klaus´ heart. He was surprised by this feeling but he quickly realized the reason. He would see Caroline every day, in the morning, in the noon, in the evening...He could talk to her without a real reason like a ball. He smirked when he thought about it and about her smile when she looked at him.  
_

"You really want to do this?", Liz asked worriedly. It was 5:25pm and Caroline was packing her stuff together. "Mom, I´ll help Elena with it. She´d never admit it but I think she´s a little afraid of living in a house with no one but four Originals", Caroline kicked herself mentally when she noticed that this was an argument against her. "I know you want to help her but what about you honey? Are you happy with this?", Liz asked doubtfully. "I´m fine with it , mom. Elijah is kind and moral and he truly loves Elena. Rebekah and I are friends now and Kol...well I can deal with him", Caroline explained. She had to smile when she thought about how surprised Kol was when she attacked him. That probably never happened to him before. "And what about Klaus? He is bad, sweetie", Liz made a judging face. "I hope you don´t do anything stupid. He could kill you, just like he killed...", she added but Caroline interrupted her. "Klaus would never hurt me!", Caroline heard herself yelling and she quickly looked at her mother to see her reaction. She was surprised by herself, why did she say that? Her mother looked at her in surprise. "I´m just trying to protect you honey", Liz said a little speechless. "I-I know mom...I´m sorry", Caroline excused, looking down at her feet. "Why would you defend him?", Liz asked curiously. "Mom!", Caroline moaned when she saw her mother´s interested face. "Could we just...switch the topic please?", she added quickly, nervously playing with her daylight ring. Liz smiled slightly, her daughter sounded like a teenager in love. Although it was Klaus they were talking about, Liz was happy that Caroline didn´t think about Tyler anymore. "Do we have another suitcase? I think this one won´t be enough...", Caroline mumbled, pointing at the huge suitcase in front of her. Liz laughed quietly. "Okay, let´s see what I could do..."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – What happens in the dark...

"Hello?", Caroline yelled when she entered the Mansion. No answer. "Anybody home?", she added but she still didn´t get an answer. She put her suitcase on the staircase and concentrated. She heard a shower upstairs, so she followed the sound of it. Slowly she walked down the hallway to make out of which room the sound came, when the shower stopped. Great, now she didn´t know anything, there were just too many doors. She remembered only Rebekah´s room but when she looked inside of it, it was empty. Curious she walked further, she was wondering where all these doors were leading to. Caroline stopped in front of a slightly open door, knocked and pushed it a bit open. Her mouth popped a bit open in amazement, this room was even more beautiful than Rebekah´s. It was huge and at the wall were windows that ended at the floor. "Hello?", Caroline said quietly because she was too speechless to speak louder. There was a huge king-size bed which looked heavenly comfortable. Her gaze fell on a few sketches at the table next to the door and she assumed this was Klaus´ room. She lifted one by one, looking through them. Caroline caught herself smiling when she found a drawing of a female eye, filled with tears. The next picture showed two of them and the next sketch was her own face, her eyes filled with tears. She thought about why he would draw her crying but then she noticed a tiny detail. Her eyes were darker, the veins under them hadn´t completely vanished and in her slightly opened mouth she could see her sharp canines, not completely disappeared either. He drew her right after she attacked Kol, he caught all the details of her face, all the emotions that were in it and drew it. "Caroline?", her thoughts got interrupted. She let go of the sketches and looked at Klaus who was standing in the room, holding a towel in his hands. Klaus was surprised that Caroline was in his room, looking at his drawings. Caroline felt she was gazing at his firm body but she couldn´t help it. He had the most perfect chiselled chest, his v-line that was stretching up from his jeans that hung low on his hips, was clearly visible and extremely alluring. Klaus smirked when he saw Caroline´s gaze on him. Oh he noticed she felt attracted to him right now and he felt amazing with that. "I-I`m sorry...I just...y-you...uhm...", Caroline stammered and she slapped herself mentally for that obvious move. Klaus´ smile got even brighter when she wasn´t able to form a proper sentence. Amused he raised his eyebrows, grinning brightly. "Would you mind giving me a shirt from behind you, love?", he asked friendly, watching every move she made. _A shirt? Why that? You should run around shirtless all the time! _Caroline thought. _No stop, don´t be stupid, just give him the bloody shirt already!_, she hissed at herself internally. "Uhm, yea sure", she muttered and gave Klaus a short-sleeved, dark green shirt with a v-neck. "So what are you doing in here?", he asked, putting on the shirt. "Not that I´m not pleased to have you in my room of course", he joked and Caroline rolled her eyes on him, unable to keep herself from smiling. "Like you might have noticed I´m moving in for a while and now I don´t know where to put my stuff and the house was empty and then...well you know the rest already", she explained, blushing slightly. "Let´s get your suitcase, I´ll show you your room", Klaus suggested smiling. "Wait, I´ve got an own room?", Caroline asked surprised. "Of course you do, love", Klaus smirked down at Caroline. Then they went downstairs where Klaus grabbed her suitcases and went back upstairs. Caroline told him she could carry them as well but Klaus just smiled at her, raising his eyebrows. He was acting like a real gentleman what didn´t surprise Caroline, after he always acted like that when he was with her. "There we are", Klaus said when they stopped in front of a door, directly opposite his own. "I hope it´s fine", he added when he opened the door. Caroline followed him into the room and her mouth popped a bit open in awe. The room was just the same as Klaus´ and there where beautiful red-hinted flowers standing on her bedside table. When she looked around she saw huge French-doors Klaus had as well and because she was curious what was behind it, she opened them. Her eyes widened when she was standing in front of a giant walk-in-closet. When she turned around she saw another door which led to her own bathroom. Her room was flooded with orange light from the sunset and Caroline went to the huge windows she had a perfect view on the green backyard of the Mansion. "This is my room?", she asked incredulously. "It is. I allowed myself to reserve it for you before Kol would want to have it", Klaus answered smiling. Caroline beamed at him, while clapping her hands excitedly and then she suddenly threw her arms around him, pulling him in a hug. Klaus was shocked at first but he quickly relaxed and put his arms around her, bringing her even closer. Caroline felt how his heart beat faster what raised her heartbeat as well. Klaus felt good, having her in his arms and he wished he could hold her like that whenever he wanted. Caroline pulled away too soon for both likings but she wasn´t sure if this was right. It felt so right, so real, so...but her mind told her that it wasn´t right though. "I´ll be downstairs if you need anything", Klaus said calmly, missing her already in his arms. He turned around and walked towards the door. "Klaus?", Caroline said quietly and he quickly turned around. "Yes love?", he asked and Caroline smiled lovingly at him. "Thank you", she answered quietly, looking into his deep blue eyes. Klaus smiled back at her and nodded before he finally left the room and went downstairs.  
_

"Stefan?", Rebekah shouted when she entered the Salvatore Boarding House. "Where are you?", she added loudly. Suddenly everything around her went black. "This isn´t funny Stefan!", she shouted with a trembling voice. She hated and feared the darkness more than anything else. Quickly she turned around when she heard something moving. Suddenly someone grabbed her hand what made her scream out loud. "Hey, hey...it´s me, it´s Stefan", Stefan whispered, grabbing her second hand as well. "Stefan?", Rebekah whispered under tears. "Hey, are you crying?", he asked worriedly, bringing her closer to him. "No...y-yes...", Rebekah sobbed. "Everything is okay, it´s just a power failure", Stefan kissed her lovingly on her forehead and she leaned her face against his chest. "Just a p-power failure", Rebekah repeated quietly. "I know what you think: it´s ridiculous...an Original vampire afraid of the darkness...", she said ashamed. Stefan took her face in his hands, looking at her through the darkness. "Actually, I was thinking how sweet and wonderful you are", he smiled at her lovingly and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Okay?", he whispered and Rebekah nodded. "I love you Stefan", she whispered and Stefan kissed her deeply. "I love you too", he said before he kissed her again.  
_

"I still can´t believe you´re engaged", Bonnie said, sitting with Elena in the backseat of Elijah´s car. "Me neither, look darling, we have a lot in common", Kol threw in. He was sitting in the front next to Elijah. They had picked Bonnie up for a nice evening at the Mansion and Kol insisted on coming with them. He was truly taken by the green eyed witch and he wanted to spend time with her. Bonnie just rolled her eyes on him and ignored his comment. "So what have you planned for today evening?", she asked. The sun was already going down and it looked like the sky was on fire. "We´ll see...I mean, Caroline always has good ideas", Elena smiled bright. "I don´t want to interrupt you two but when did Caroline want to be at the Mansion again, dear?", Elijah asked his beloved. "Crap! I totally forgot that...oh my god, Elijah, what now?", Elena babbled. "Calm down, we´re almost there", Elijah calmed his fiancée down. He smiled instantly when he reminded himself that he would spend the rest of his being with this beautiful, smart and caring woman. "Could we do something fun? I need entertainment!", Kol whined what made Bonnie chuckle slightly. "You sound like a three years old child", she said smiling. Kol turned his head to see the beautiful woman. "Careful darling, you know I´m strong", he winked at her. Bonnie came a little closer so that there wasn´t much space left between their faces. "Careful Kol, you know I´m stronger", she whispered before she leaned back Kol´s mouth stood open, he was speechless. Elena started giggling and Elijah smiled about his little brother. The sun was already down when they arrived at the Mansion. "Here we are", Elijah said when he parked the car at the big place in front of the Mansion. When they entered the Mansion, everything suddenly went black. Elena grabbed Elijah´s hand, just to make sure he was with her and Elijah squeezed it lightly to give her comfort. "Klaus?", they heard Caroline´s voice from upstairs. They were surprised and Kol chuckled slightly. "Klaus, this is not funny!", Caroline said loudly, walking down the hallway. "This wasn´t me love, it seems to be a power failure", that was Klaus´ voice. It also came from upstairs but of the other direction. "Oh, sorry...", Caroline replied quietly and Bonnie was sure that she was blushing right now. "It´s okay...where are you?", Klaus said in a calm voice. "Mmh, let me think...I don´t know, I can´t see!?", Caroline joked what made Klaus chuckle slightly.  
_

Caroline smiled when she followed Klaus´ chuckle. She really had to concentrate to make out of which direction it came. Suddenly the floor under her left foot was gone and she lost her balance. She screamed out loud but before she could fall, she felt an arm around her waist. "Shh-shh...It´s okay, I´ve got you love, you´re save", Klaus murmured near her ear. Caroline rested her trembling hand on his chest after they were standing very close together. Klaus´ arm was still around her waist and Caroline could hear his fastened heartbeat. Still shocked, she noticed that her own heartbeat was way too fast and that she was breathing heavily. "Shh", Klaus calmed her down, bringing her even closer to him. "Thank you", Caroline whispered, looking up to him through the darkness. She felt save in his arms, it felt like her hand was meant to be placed on his chest. She felt good when his strong arm brought her closer to him, gently but firmly. Caroline would give everything to stay in his arms like this just a little longer. Klaus looked down at her through the darkness. His heart started racing when Caroline rested her trembling hand on his chest. He was so shocked when he heard her falling and her scream was so full of fear, it hurt inside of him. When he caught her, his heart was still pounding really fast but he was relieved he got her before she could fall. Slowly Caroline pulled away and Klaus took his hand from her waist. "Come on, we´ll find your room", he said quietly and he smiled when Caroline placed her arm through his.  
_

Shocked of the scene, none of the four others said a word. As far as they could tell Caroline almost fell of the staircase but Klaus caught her in time. Elena had grabbed Elijah´s arm and even Bonnie had moved a little closer to Kol. "Thanks", they heard Caroline saying, they obviously found her room. "Sure, I will be in my room if you need anything", Klaus answered. Then they heard the first door closing and then the second. Just on this moment, Bonnie turned her head to Kol and said: "Not a single word about this! None of us was here!", she pointed with her finger at him and smiled. "Of course, darling. What happens in the dark stays in the dark", he joked and suddenly the light was back on. Relieved by that, Elena sighed. She went to the door, opened it again and closed it loudly. "Caroline? Are you there already?", she shouted and Elijah laughed slightly about her acting. A door opened and Caroline appeared at the top of the staircase. "There you are! You owe me something for forgetting me", she joked before she walked down the staircase. "Wait, is Klaus up there? If so, could you tell him to come to the living room?", Elena asked friendly. "Yea sure", Caroline smiled friendly before she went back upstairs and walked down the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – From blue to gold

"What are we waiting for? Let´s do something fun!", Kol said, the usual smirk on his lips. He was walking up and down the living room, always eyeing the beautiful witch, who was sitting on the couch. "Rebekah should be here in a minute", Elena said, sitting on Elijah´s lap. Caroline, who was sitting on the big couch with Bonnie, threw her head back and sighed loudly. "God, I´m bored as well, don´t you have any music?!", she moaned and Kol turned on the stereo immediately. "Thank god, this was about to get awkward", Caroline muttered and Bonnie giggled slightly. Klaus, who was sitting in the big armchair opposite the couch, watched Caroline amused. He didn´t get why he had to come here but when Caroline shyly asked him to come downstairs _with _her, he couldn´t resist. He was sure she didn´t mean it that way but he liked to think so. "Let´s dance!", Elena suggested, looking at her fiancé. "Oh no, for that I need to be drunk", he replied but when he saw Elena´s big brown puppy eyes he gave in. "Okay, but just dance with Bonnie or Caroline first", Elijah suggested smiling. "Fair enough", Elena beamed at her fiancé before she went to Bonnie and grabbed her hand. "Are you drunk already, Elena?!", Bonnie asked laughing. "Nope, but that might change", Elena answered. She went to the little bar and smiled bright when she pulled out a bottle of vodka. Elijah´s eyes widened at first but he relaxed right away, he was way too protective. Caroline jumped of the couch. "Give me that!", she said when she took the bottle from Elena. Klaus watched her interestedly. "What? If this evening should be fun, I will need it", Caroline added when she saw the bewildered faces. She opened it and took a big gulp from it. When she took the bottle of her mouth she smiled awkwardly and said: "So let´s have fun!". The other girls laughed and Elena turned up the music a little. After a while they were all a little drunk and danced around. Klaus watched Caroline, who was flipping her hair while jumping at the table and throwing her arms in the air. He smiled instinctively when she did that. "Oh my god, I love this song!", Bonnie shrieked, turning up the music. "No you don´t, you hate it, silly", Elena laughed out loud. "Oh yea you´re right", Bonnie remembered but then she laughed and danced around again. At the chorus all three girls sung out loud: "So tell me girl if every time we to-o-ouch, you get this kinda ru-u-ush", they burst into laughter at once and Caroline jumped of the table. Klaus wondered how she managed that in those high heels she was wearing. His thoughts got interrupted when he saw Kol dancing with Caroline. She was moving to the rhythm, giggling joyfully while Kol smirked at her. Klaus felt a stinging pain in his chest, tensing at once. When Kol laid his hands on her waist, swaying his body with hers, Klaus felt a wave of rage rush through him. He clenched his hands to fists and let out the deep growl, he couldn´t hold back anymore. He made a move to stand up, when Elijah grabbed his arm and pulled him down. "Calm down brother, you need to calm down!", Elijah urged, tightening his grip. It wasn´t easy to keep Klaus in his seat, after he was raging inside. "What would you do if this moron had his hands on your beloved doppelganger?!", Klaus questioned through gritted teeth. Elijah sighed. Of course he wouldn´t let Kol dance with Elena like that and he could see why Klaus was so angry. "Her name is Elena, brother. And I don´t want any trouble here!", Elijah said as calm as possible. He wanted Klaus to listen to him but he knew that if he would get loud, his brother would get even angrier. "I don´t _care_ what you want!", Klaus growled, pushing away his brother´s hand. He was angry and with that way stronger. "Hey", Elena trilled, hugging her fiancé. "What´s going on?", she asked, bewilderedly looking from one man to the other. When Klaus didn´t answer, Elijah just gestured at him and Elena followed his gaze. "Oh, Klaus you don´t need to be jealous of Kol. Care really...", Elena started but Klaus cut in. "I´m not jealous!", he hissed through gritted teeth. "I´m afraid you are, brother...", Elijah said, trying to keep himself from laughing. His brother acted like a child and he found the situation rather amusing. "I am _not_!", Klaus growled loudly, making Elena flinch. "What are you not?", Kol asked smirking, walking towards them. "Never mind, _brother_", Klaus spit out. Kol just shrugged his shoulders and ignored this comment. "Your beloved Caroline has got some moves – woooh, quite attracting", he smirked mischievously and Klaus couldn´t hold it anymore. He flashed in front of him, clenching his hands to fists. "Relax brother, you have a problem with me dancing with your girlfriend?", Kol asked, the smirk not leaving his face. "She´s not my girlfriend!", Klaus hissed and finally Bonnie and Caroline also noticed the nasty atmosphere. Bewildered they looked at the group of the others, not knowing what was going on. "And she could dance with whoever she wants – ", Klaus glared at his younger brother, making himself taller to look down at him. "What do I care!", he growled, now looking at Caroline who walked towards them. "What is going on here?", Bonnie asked when they arrived the group. "Nothing", Klaus hissed at her. "Hey, you don´t need to be rude!", Caroline said aghast. "Yes Nik, you don´t need to be rude!", Kol repeated laughing and that was enough. Klaus turned back to him, grabbed him by his throat and threw him across the room. With a loud crash, Kol smashed into the couch table. "Niklaus!", Elijah raised his voice but Klaus didn´t care. He walked towards Kol when someone grabbed his arm. With a deep growl, Klaus pushed the hand away, tuning around furiously. Shocked Caroline looked up to him. "What is wrong with you!?", she demanded. "He deserves it!", Klaus growled, blending out the others who watched them shocked. "Why? He did no wrong! Besides, you´re not the one to judge – who is the mass murderer here?!", Caroline snapped back. "Oh really!? I´m not the one who killed 12 witches at once!", Klaus made a step towards her. "No, y_ou_ rather slaughtered 12 of your own hybrids!", she also made a step towards him. "That´s not even the point! Kol deserves it for a different reason!" Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh yea? And that would be?!", she asked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I don´t have to explain myself in front of you or _anyone _else!", Klaus growled loudly. He noticed how Caroline´s eyes slowly filled with tears but he was too angry to realize it. "How could you do this to me!? How could you be kind and gentle and in the next moment act like you don´t care? How could you make me believe that you´re human and then become this...this monster!?", Caroline screamed at him, tears running over her face. "Well there we are – I _am_ _not _human!", Klaus roared back. His eyes got from the normal blue to a bright gold and his sharp canines were clearly visible. Perplexed and speechless Caroline looked up to him, shaking heavily. She opened her mouth and closed it right away. Then she took a last look into his golden eyes before she turned around and ran out of the room. Elena followed her immediately while everyone else in the room looked at Klaus, still shocked by what just happened. "Care...", they heard Elena yelling and then they heard a door slamming and it became quiet. Just this moment, Klaus realized what he had done. It was like the slamming noise cleared his mind at once and he felt the guilt coming up in him. "She locked herself in her room", Elena said under her breath, standing in the door. Aghast Klaus looked at Elena. The guilt was overwhelming him, his chest felt like it was about to explode. All he wanted now was to see Caroline.  
_

Caroline stormed out of the room, flashing upstairs and into her room. She heard someone calling her name, it sounded like Elena, but she had to be alone. She needed air, she couldn´t breathe. She slammed the door, locking it right away. No company – no problems. "No company...no problems...", she repeated under her breath, her hand still on the door handle. _I can´t breathe...I-I can´t breathe... .air!_, she thought and her breath fastened at once. She couldn´t calm down. Quickly she walked from the door to her bed and back to the door. "Okay..okay...", Caroline whispered to herself, finally calming down. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Sighing she sank on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. She lost track of time, so she didn´t know how long she lay there, when she suddenly heard a slight knock at her door.  
_

"I knew it, of course there had to be trouble", Elijah muttered more to himself. "Do you think she will be fine?", Rebekah asked Elena worriedly. She and Stefan just arrived and Elena told them the story. Klaus still hadn´t moved even an inch. His face had normalized and his now again deep blue eyes were slowly filling with tears. He felt weak to cry but the guilt was stronger. His head was pounding. While everyone was talking into him, he couldn´t stop thinking about Caroline. "I´ve got a broken rip, thanks brother!" "Nik, why did you do this?" "I knew he was no good!" "Bonnie, stop it!" "Maybe I should talk to her" "No Stefan, we better leave her alone" "Elena" "I knew it, this family always causes trouble!" - "Niklaus, do you even listen?!" Klaus heard all of it, they all talked into him. Suddenly he heard a high stinging noise and at once he woke up out of his trance. Although everyone was talking to him, he just walked out of the room, upstairs, through the hallway, until he stopped in front of a door. He took a deep breath and knocked slightly at the door – at _her_ door.  
_

Caroline looked up from her pillow, her gaze on the door. She didn´t say anything, she just stared at it. "Ca-Caroline?", she heard Klaus´ throaty voice. Slowly she got up and walked to the door. Caroline reached out for the door handle, pulling her hand back right away. Uncertainly she bit her lips, still not saying a word. "Caroline?", she heard him saying again and she felt a slight sting in her chest. He sounded like he cried or like he was close to that...but Klaus wouldn´t cry, right? Caroline wanted to say something but every instinct in her body told her not to. She closed her eyes and put her hand on the door handle. "Please, love", Caroline´s heart broke into a thousand pieces when she heard the whisper from outside her door. She couldn´t, she just couldn´t open the door. When she bit her lips again, she tasted her salty tears and just then she noticed she was crying. She couldn´t...but she wanted to. Caroline leaned against the door, her eyes falling on the beautiful flowers at her bedside table. Her bottom lip started trembling and she couldn´t keep herself on her feet anymore. Slowly she sank to the ground, still leaning against the door, starting to sob uncontrollably. She heard how Klaus leaned against the other side of the door, sinking down to the ground as well. She turned her head so that her ear was lying at the door. "Please, love", she heard Klaus´ throaty whisper right next to her ear, what let tears run over her cheeks again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Guilt

Klaus couldn´t sleep for hours. Every five minutes he would whisper something to Caroline who wouldn´t answer but let out a quiet sob. With every sob his heart would break a little more and his eyes would sting more. He heard his own voice getting quieter every minute and it sounded throatier than ever before in his life. He couldn´t remember a single moment he felt so much guilt and shame at once. He knew he had done terrible things, he tortured, he slaughtered, he murdered. Yes, he was a killer, a murderer. It was the same with every victim – three phases. Number one, the hunt: It was thrilling to hunt your victim down, making them afraid, making them run before you finally catch them. He had always enjoyed the hunt, it was in his nature. Number two, the kill: when your canines lightly scratch at the skin, when you hear the hitched breath of fear paired with the sound of blood rushing through your victim´s veins, when you feel the desire coming up in you, the desire to kill. Then the final bite into you victim´s neck, the art of puncturing the neck artery so that you don´t spill a single drop of blood. You drain your victim completely out of blood until you hear the last heartbeat. He had always enjoyed the kill, it was in his nature. Number three, the guilt: When your victim´s heart stops beating, when the blood leaves the body, when the skin gets white and cold. When you let go of the lifeless body, watching it fall to the ground, not moving, not breathing, dead – that´s when you slowly feel the guilt coming up. If you shut it off, you don´t have to feel it. But if you keep your humanity, you feel it all. Seeing a lifeless body isn´t easy, but seeing a lifeless body, whose life you drained completely out of, was the worst feeling in the world. You feel the guilt and the loneliness. The thrill of the hunt disappears with the light of life out of your victim´s eyes. He had never enjoyed the guilt, it was his humanity. In the thousands of years he walked on this planet, he learned to feel less guilt but never to feel nothing. Klaus shook his head to vanish those thoughts from his mind. The point was: he felt guilt, he knew the worst feeling in the world, at least he thought so. But when he saw Caroline running away from him, her eyes filled with tears, her body shaking heavily...that was the worst feeling in the world. He felt the guilt overwhelming him, like never before. But he didn´t care about himself, he didn´t care about the others seeing him cry, he only cared about Caroline. After a while he noticed how Caroline´s sobs got quieter and how her breath slowed down. Her heartbeat finally calmed to a steady and slow point and he sighed in relief when he realized she fell asleep. On the one hand he just wanted to hold her, talk to her, mighty god – just look at her once. But on the other hand he couldn´t stand hearing Caroline cry and her uneven breath made him sick. Her quick but heavy heartbeat broke his heart into pieces, every time it jumped as she hiccupped under tears. He was the one who made her cry, it was all his fault. How could he possibly think Caroline would ever be able to love him when he made her cry? He was being a fool and a horrible person. He wasn´t good enough for her, nor for anyone else – he was bad. His eyes stung once more because of the salty tears that now ran down his face and he buried his face in his hands. Klaus had no idea what was happening to him, why he suddenly felt all those emotions he never felt before in his life and why of all the sudden he sat on the ground in front of a locked door, crying his eyes out. He didn´t know this side of him, but although it frightened him a bit, he knew it was good because it had something to do with Caroline. Only she made him act the way he acted, only she made him think the way he thought and only she made him feel the way he felt. His thoughts got interrupted when he heard quiet steps of high heels walking towards him. They weren´t just quiet, they were more muffled noises and he only could hardly make out it was a pair of high heels. Bewildered he noticed that his head was trapped between his arms, burying his ears in his jacket, causing every sound around him to sound like it was wrapped in cotton. As the steps drew closer, he slowly lifted his head to face the person who came. "Nik", Rebekah´s voice bellowed through the hallway as she saw him, though wondering why he was sitting on the ground. Klaus didn´t bother to say a word, he just pressed his finger in front of his lips, telling her to be quiet. Rebekah understood his movement as she assumed he didn´t want Caroline to wake up as she had possibly fallen asleep already. "Nik, why are you sitt-", she started but she cut off right away, now standing right in front of her brother. "Are you...bloody hell, are you crying?", Rebekah asked under her breath, though knowing he heard her perfectly well. Klaus, tired of thinking, shrugged his shoulders, dropping his head to look back at his hands. He didn´t care that his sister now saw him crying, sitting in the middle of the hallway, he just didn´t care. For his liking even the whole town could now come and look at him while he was crying, it wouldn´t make any difference. The only one he cared about right now was Caroline. After minutes of silence, Rebekah kneed down next to her older brother, looking at him worriedly. She didn´t know how to react in such situation, after nothing like this ever happened before. She loved her brother but she had to admit that she had never seen such feelings in his face. Although he was glaring at his hands, she could tell his face looked disgusted by himself. She had seen his expression before he turned away and it made her feel bad. "She doesn´t want to open?", Rebekah asked quietly, already knowing the answer. Klaus shook his head, still not bothering to look up at his sister. "She did fall asleep already, didn´t she?", she continued asking questions, she already knew the answer of, just to comfort her brother. After he nodded, silence fell between the siblings again. After a while of just sitting there, Rebekah stood up, looking down at her brother who still glared at his own hands. "I´ll be downstairs if you need anything", she offered quietly, waiting for an answer patiently, but not getting any. Klaus glared at his hands as he heard his sister finally heading to the staircase again. When the sound of her steps completely disappeared from his hearing, he lifted his head and leaned it against the door behind him. He could feel how her almost-no-weight body leant against the other side of the door, making him feel more comfortable. He thought back to the scene in the living room, back to the fight and back to them screaming at each other. Klaus felt like the white oak steak was pressed into his chest, when he thought about her face when she cried, causing him to start sobbing again.  
_

"Elena, you don´t see the point: I´m her best friend, I _have_ to talk to her!", Stefan moaned, standing opposite Elena who glared at him. "I know how you feel, she´s my best friend too, but you need to understand...", she started again, she had repeated that sentence at least five times now. "What is it there to understand? I´m her friend, she needs help, I have to comfort her", Stefan cut into her sentence once again, as he also did for the other five times she tried saying what she wanted. "Stefan, just...alright, you know, there is no point of us fighting now too. She needs to be alone right now, she made that very clear", Elena sighed relieved when Stefan finally sat down, nodding in agreement. Just then, Rebekah entered the living room. At once all the conversations in the room fell silent and everyone looked at her, urging her to tell what she knew. When Rebekah didn´t say anything but walked over to the bar, pouring herself a glass of wine, Bonnie broke the silence. "Well?", she said, looking at the Original blonde. "Well what?", Rebekah answered, acting like she didn´t have a clue what the green eyed women wanted from her. "She won´t open, I guess she fell asleep already", she simply stated, taking a sip of her wine. Moaning, Bonnie threw her head back and rolled her eyes on the blonde. "No – where is this bloody moron?", Kol asked, his mischievous grin weaker than normally but still visible. Rebekah felt uncomfortable, telling everyone that her brother, also known as a mass murderer, cruel and cold-hearted, was sitting in front of Caroline´s room, crying like never before, disgusted by himself. But at the other hand Rebekah knew that she could trust every last one of those who were in the room, after they were her family, her friends or her secret boyfriend. She smiled at that thought but she vanished it immediately, knowing there were more important things at the very moment. After a last careful thought, she told them the whole story of how he was sitting there, not talking, barely even looking at her and how she never saw him like that before. Elijah and Kol had to admit, they never did either and after all, Rebekah spent the most time with their brother, although she was daggered for almost 90 years. After a while of silence, they agreed to go to bed but also that no one would talk to Klaus and that they just would let him be, because that was the best solution they could think of right then.  
_

Later that night, it must have already been early in the morning, Klaus still sat on the ground, not moving an inch. The tears had stopped falling after a while but probably just because he had run out of them. There was no tear left, so he just sat there, his head leant against the door, staring at his own door. He was tired, very tired actually, but he didn´t dare closing his eyes, afraid he would actually fall asleep. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn´t hear a door opening. "Nik, why are you still here?", Rebekah asked quietly, her voice still sleepy. No answer. "You really need to go to bed, Nik. Sleep, wake up, take a shower – clear your mind", she said, coming closer to him. No answer. Rebekah could barely make out that he was shaking his head but she continued. "Come one, go to bed, sleep – you _need_ sleep", she added, preparing herself not to get an answer but at once his head shot up, glaring at her. His glare probably should have been filled with anger but it was a weak expression, ready to struggle, ready to fall. "Why bother sleeping if she keeps me awake? I can´t sleep, Bekah, I can´t and I won´t!", he said, giving his voice as much power as possible. "I won´t leave her", he added quieter. Rebekah didn´t really understand what he meant by that. _Why bother sleeping if she keeps me awake_ – what was that supposed to mean? Possibly he wanted to tell her that Caroline was a good reason not to sleep, because she was Caroline. Rebekah wasn´t sure but she didn´t dare asking her older brother either. She nodded slightly before she turned around and went back into her room, closing the door silently. Klaus knew she was right, he really needed to sleep but he didn´t want to. He wanted to be there when Caroline woke up, he wanted to be there for her, trying his best to make her talk to him again. He closed his eyes for a moment to take a deep breath, realizing his mistake right away – but he had already fallen asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Humanity

Caroline woke up the next morning, her neck hurting terribly. She blinked a few times as the sun was shining so bright, that her eyes stung. She yawned while holding her neck, causing it to crack once. "Ouch", she moaned and sat herself up. Bewildered she looked around and noticed she was sitting on the ground. She must have fallen asleep in front of the door. Caroline let out a sigh and massaged her temples before she heaved herself up and slowly went to the bathroom. Shocked she looked at her reflection in the mirror – she looked horrible! With slightly trembling fingers she drew the dark shadows under her eyes. Her eyes looked bloodshot red and they still stung of all the crying. What shocked her the most was that the dark veins under her eyes were clearly visible like she was about to attack someone. Lost in thoughts, she stroked the veins under her eyes, somehow amazed. She shouldn´t think that, it was bad, but she couldn´t help herself. As it knocked at her door, she jumped, suddenly torn from her thoughts. Not thinking about how she looked like, Caroline went to the door and unlocked it. Slowly she opened the door, seeing Rebekah standing in front of her. The Original´s smile disappeared and her eyes widened. "You too?!"  
_

When Klaus woke up, he was still sitting on the ground in front of Caroline´s door. He cursed himself mentally for falling asleep when he noticed how his neck hurt. No one ever managed it to break his neck but he supposed you must feel like that when you woke up again. Moaning he brought his hand to his neck, causing it to crack loudly. He groaned when the pain shot through his neck. Listening to Caroline´s calm heartbeat and breath he assumed she was still sleeping, so he decided to take a quick shower. While going into his room, he massaged his temples after his head stung like hell. Shocked he looked at his reflection in the mirror – he looked dead, for real this time. Curious he inspected his face: he had shadows under his eyes, dark as the night and his eyes looked bloodshot red. Had he really cried that much?! Klaus wasn´t really familiar with the after-effects of crying after he never really did so, but he had noticed those symptoms at his sister sometimes. But what shocked him the most was that the veins under his eyes were visible, what made him look even more horrible. His eyes fortunately had the normal deep blue colour and hadn´t taken over the hybrid look to a bright gold. His chest stung when he thought about how his eyes got this look the day before and how he glared at Caroline with those...murderer eyes. "Gosh Nik, you look like a bloody ghost!", his sister´s voice made him jump and in the mirror he saw that she was standing behind him. "Never heard of knocking, did you?", Klaus growled. "I did knock and after I got no answer I took it as an invitation", Rebekah just stated like it was a matter-of-fact that she was allowed to go in his room whenever she wanted. Klaus just rolled his eyes on her, causing his eyes to sting again. "I thought you didn´t want to leave?", Rebekah asked after a while, but it sounded more like a statement. Maybe even a judgement, Klaus wasn´t sure. First he hesitated but then he looked to the ground. "I didn´t", he said quietly but still powerful. A quick smile hushed over Rebekah´s face as she heard that. "You know brother, yesterday was a long day. Try it again today, I´m sure Caroline will give in sooner or later", she said smiling and at the mention of her name, Klaus turned around, facing his sister. "If you say so", he muttered, trying to sound like he didn´t care, failing miserably. Yes, yesterday he didn´t care if she saw him crying or not but today was a new day and he was trying o get back to his old facade, his safety. Rebekah just gave him a sly smile. "I do, trust me: at the end of the day it´ll be forgiven and forgotten", she trilled as she left the room, heading to Caroline´s door. Klaus sighed, turning around to look at his reflection once more. _Now how to I fix that_, he thought before he took a shower.  
_

"What do you mean: _you too_?", Caroline asked, closing the door behind Rebekah. "Never 

mind, how do you feel?", the Original blonde tried to change the subject, sitting down at 

Caroline´s huge, untouched bed. She obviously didn´t sleep in it this night, what Rebekah found weird. "Rebekah, talk to me: what do you mean?", Caroline repeated, walking over to the other blonde. "Didn´t you sleep at all this night? Your bed is untouched", Rebekah ignored her question what made Caroline furious. "Rebekah Mikaelson, you listen to me now!", she yelled, causing Rebekah to look perplexed. "What do you mean with _you too_?!", Caroline asked a little quieter than before. "Okay – bloody hell, I´ll tell you", Rebekah sighed before she continued. "I mean your eyes: dark shadows, bloody red and your vampire vein look...Nik looked exactly the same this morning", she told honestly. _So he really did cry_, Caroline thought,_ Dammit and it´s my fault!_ Sighing Caroline sunk on her bed, sadly looking to the ground. She felt horrible because she didn´t let Klaus in, didn´t let him talk to her, didn´t even answer him. What he did wasn´t that horrible that he´d deserve being treated like that by her. She was just shocked by him, by the situation – by herself. First the fight about the two massacres: the one by him was, if she thought about it, just to protect himself. And the one by her, where she killed those 12 witches was to save her friend. Caroline knew it didn´t excuse the murder of 12 most likely innocent people but it was the truth. Klaus mentioning that made her just very angry and sad at the same time, because he knew what she killed them for. He was the one who buried those witches afterwards, he was the one who stayed with her while Stefan brought Bonnie home. But though, he was mad at her back then and when she felt the guilt rushing through her, he first took her shoulders, slightly caressing them. He told her that she looked like she was in need of comfort and his eyes were full of love back then. She felt so save when his strong hands held her shoulders and his touch made her shiver. But then he said: _Why don´t you find someone less terrible you can relate to? _And it hurt, it really did. She remembered those words very well after she was the one who made him say it. She had told him before that people who do terrible things just are terrible people and by that practically thrown in his face that he was a terrible person and not worth caring. Caroline regretted those words very much because they weren´t even true. She was the one who knew his real face, at least a lot of it already, and he was definitely worth caring. The other thing that made her cry the day before was when he growled loudly. She hated when he did that, his voice was very frightening then. Caroline had never been afraid of Klaus, and she still wasn´t. It was just a horrible sound to her ears to hear this normally soft voice getting so loud, powerful and angry. His calm voice, with the handsome British accent, and all the love in his voice when he spoke to her...it all just disappeared. Moreover she cried because she was stupidly impulsive and when she was in rage, she couldn´t shut her mouth. She basically told him, even though it was more screaming than telling, that it hurt her to see him like that. That she cared about him and liked him and liked his caring side. That he hurt her by _acting_ like he wasn´t human, because if Caroline knew one thing it was that he w_as _human. He was caring, loving and extremely driven by his emotions. All his actions were consequences of his feelings, she knew that, because he was just like her. She was also driven by her emotions, she just showed them more often than him – maybe because he had not many people to show them to. _How could you do this to me?!_, were her words. They literally screamed – I care about you, you affect me, I like you! Caroline cried because in some way she told him how she felt. The last and most important reason why she cried was his reply: _Well there we are – I __**am not **__human! _Those words hurt her, they made her heart shatter into pieces because she knew it was a lie. It was a lie that he wasn´t human and those words, paired with his golden hybrid eyes and his canines were a way to show her how dangerous he was. Klaus was dangerous, he was a murderer, immortal...Intentionally or not, Klaus did this to show her that he wasn´t good. But Caroline knew that it was a lie, at least to her eyes it was. Klaus did terrible things, but he was driven by emotions and by reasons. She could explain every horrible thing he had done, because she understood how he must be feeling. Caroline cried because she didn´t want Klaus to believe that he was a monster. "Caroline? Hello there?", Rebekah´s voice interrupted her thoughts. "Mh- what?", Caroline jumped, looking at the other blonde. "You didn´t listen, did you? What were you thinking about?", Rebekah asked a little worried. "Humanity", Caroline said under her breath. Rebekah raised her eyebrows and inspected Caroline´s face. "You were thinking about my brother, weren´t you?", she asked but it sounded more like a statement. Or a judgement? No, no that wasn´t a judgement, there was a hint of happiness in her voice. Caroline just looked at her hands. She didn´t really want to tell Rebekah that she was right but she didn´t want to lie either. It wouldn´t make any sense anyway because she was a bad liar and Rebekah would notice immediately. The blonde Original smiled lovingly as Caroline nervously played with her daylight ring. "My brother really likes you, you know?", she said smiling. "Yea I doubt that after yesterday...", Caroline answered, laughing madly. "I was being a stupid little bitch..", she added before she started sobbing again. Rebekah took her in her arms and caressed her arm. "No, he doesn´t judge you at all", she said calmly and Caroline looked up. "He doesn´t?", she asked in a shrill voice. "No, he says it´s his fault and he judges himself", Rebekah said smiling but Caroline burst into tears. "But t-that´s ev-ven wo-o-orse!", she said between sobs and cried into Rebekah´s shoulder. "Shh, shh", the Original tried to calm her down. "A-and now he´s-s never gonna ta-alk to me again-n", she sobbed quietly, not caring that she just made clear how important Klaus was to her. Now was he? _He was important to her, he was – good god, he was!_, Caroline thought. She was surprised by herself but Rebekah didn´t seem surprised at all. "I´m positive he´ll talk to you, before the sun will go down", Rebekah said innocently, with a sly smile on her lips. "Okay now back to your eyes, what is it with the veins?", she asked, looking at Caroline. "I guess the cravings...", Caroline said quietly, wiping her tears away. "What cra-", Rebekah started but she was cut off. "The cravings for blood", a voice said, Caroline knew just too well. As she turned to the door, she saw Klaus standing there, red eyes and dark shadows underneath them.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Remember? I do.

"W-Why...I mean, why would you both crave for blood of all the sudden? You drank it just yesterday...", Rebekah asked bewilderedly, after a while of silence. Caroline was staring at Klaus and he did as she did. As Klaus noticed, Caroline´s veins hadn´t vanished yet. He was a little surprised that her eyes looked like his own but after all she cried very much as well. "I brought you some...", Klaus started, when suddenly Caroline rushed to him and grabbed the blood-bag he was holding out to her. "...blood", he finished astonished, looking at the beautiful blonde who was breathing fast while opening the blood-bag. "I should probably go...", Rebekah said, walking towards the door. When she didn´t get an answer, she just left and went downstairs. "Close the door please", Caroline whispered, her eyes on the blood-bag in her hands. Klaus did as she said and looked right back at her, he never saw her like that before. As the door closed, Caroline couldn´t hold it anymore and drank the blood longingly, letting out a quiet moan when the blood touched her lips. Slowly Klaus walked to Caroline´s bed and sat down, still watching the scene in front of him. Normally she seemed so much in control, like the perfect vampire and though: now she was different, she seemed to long for blood so badly...Caroline had closed her eyes the whole time, probably because the taste of blood felt so good right now. But as she finished off the blood-bag, her eyelids flew open, revealing her bloody red eyes, the dark corners around them and the dark veins underneath. Klaus knew it was wrong but again he was amazed by what he saw, after he never saw his love like that before. Did he just call her _his love_? His thoughts got interrupted when she suddenly stared sobbing loudly, tears running down her face. "Caroline...", Klaus whispered perplexed. "D-Don´t look at-t m-me", she brought out between sobs, what made Klaus heart shatter into pieces. He couldn´t stand her crying and he couldn´t stand her hiding her face. Slowly he stood up and closed the distance between them. He didn´t know how to react, what to do, what to say – this scene was so unfamiliar with him. He decided to lay his arm around her shoulder, expecting her to flinch or to push him away but to his surprise she didn´t. She just sobbed, still looking to the ground. "Shh", Klaus calmed her down, caressing her back slightly. "I-I´m hi-hideous-s!", she sobbed, bursting into tears while burying her face in his strong shoulder. Klaus was surprised but his heart started racing immediately and he brought his other arm around her too, pulling her in a comforting hug. "You´re not at all, love – you´re beautiful", he whispered into her hair, smiling lovingly.  
_

"Morning sister", Kol said smiling as Rebekah entered the kitchen. He was leaning at the kitchen isle, while Elena and Elijah were sitting at the table, talking feverishly about the wedding. "And a wonderful morning to you, darling", he added smirking when Bonnie entered the kitchen too. The green eyed woman rolled her eyes on him, though unable to resist a smile. "Morning you two, did you sleep well here Bonnie?", Elena asked smiling. "Yes, thanks", Bonnie answered, walking over to her best friend. "Do you want to eat something, Bonnie?", Elijah asked friendly, pulling away a chair for Bonnie who sat down smiling. She nodded for an answer and Elijah turned to his brother. "Kol, could you please make our guest breakfast?", he said but it sounded more like an order. "You mean like – actual food?!", Kol threw out with widened eyes, what made Bonnie chuckle. "Yes Kol, unless you, Bonnie needs food and not blood", Elena giggled and Rebekah joined her. "You´re a real idiot, aren´t you?", the Original blonde laughed but Kol ignored her comment. As Kol turned to the fridge to make breakfast for the beautiful witch, Elena turned to Rebekah who sat down next to her. "Where is Caroline, is she fine?", she asked worriedly. "She feels not too well but Nik is with her now so-", Rebekah started but she was cut off. "Klaus is with her?!", Bonnie almost yelled, her eyes wide open. "Rebekah, are you sure this is okay? I mean after yesterday...", Elena said, much quieter than Bonnie. "Elena dear, our brother may be impulsive but as Rebekah told us yesterday, he feels guilty for his behaviour", Elijah cut in, smiling lovingly at his fiancé. "Yes, he didn´t sit at the floor the whole night without a reason", Rebekah stated, drawing the attention to her immediately. "Wait, he sat there all night?", Stefan asked astonished as he just entered the kitchen. Rebekah nodded, smiling bright at the Salvatore. Suddenly they heard steps in the hallway. "Please, no one say a word about how they look!", Rebekah whispered quickly, causing the others to look at her dumbfounded.  
_

When Klaus entered the kitchen, everyone was staring at him. Bewilderedly he looked around into the faces of his siblings and the other lot, but then he remembered why. Although they looked much better, his eyes were still red with dark corners around. Acting like he didn´t notice any of their stares, Klaus walked to the fridge and got two blood-bags out of it. Caroline was totally broken right now and she couldn´t stop crying. At least she didn´t hate him – actually she cried into his shoulder all the time. Klaus had to smile instinctively but as he turned around and even Kol was staring at him without a smirk, his own smile disappeared. "What do you think you´re looking at?!", Klaus snapped before he slapped Kol at the back of his head and left the kitchen without another word. "I told you not to look at him!", he heard his sister hiss and he just rolled his eyes on her. Of course they knew, how could he expect they didn´t? Besides his eyes that were almost screaming _look at me – I cried!_, he wasn´t unaware of how they looked at him when they went to bed the other day. Klaus sighed while shaking his head to vanish those thoughts, there were more important things right now. _Speaking of_, he thought when he arrived in front of Caroline´s room, knocking at the door. "C-come in", he heard her sweet but still slightly shaking voice from inside so he opened the door. His heart broke a little when he saw Caroline lying at her huge bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn´t know what to say or what to do, so he was relieved when Caroline started talking. "Do you remember the day when- when I killed the 12 witches?", she asked quietly and Klaus relief disappeared right away. "Yes", he answered shortly. He didn´t want to tell her that he remembered it like it was yesterday because he knew she could take that wrong easily. "Remember when we talked before? I do", Caroline said like she was in some kind of a trance. "Of course, love", Klaus answered lovingly. He moved a little closer to her bed but still keeping his distance. He didn´t really understand what was going on, neither what she was playing on. "Don´t underestimate the allure of darkness – even the purest hearts are drawn to it", Caroline whispered, turning her head to look at Klaus, who came a little closer. He smiled slightly as she quoted him, remembering their talk from the other day. "There is no allure to darkness", Klaus quoted her and his heart jumped once when he heard her quiet giggle. Caroline was still gazing at him when he sat down at the edge of her bed, handing her a blood-bag. She took it longingly, though trying to make it look normal. She opened the blood-bag, emptying it almost right away. Ashamed she looked up to Klaus, being surprised as he did the same. She watched how the dark corners around his eyes slowly vanished and also the red got a little pink and then finally white. Immediately she flashed to the mirror, her smile disappearing again. "I-I don´t get it...", she stammered as Klaus appeared behind her. "What is it, love?", he asked calmly, eyeing her curiously. "Your eyes got normal again – and mine didn´t", she said disappointed. "Ugh, and I still can´t stop thinking about blood!", Caroline moaned, slamming her hand to the wall. Klaus was perplexed, not of her behaviour but of the thought that just slipped into his mind. Caroline was looking in the mirror, drawing the shadows underneath her eyes with her fingers. "Take my blood, love", Klaus said, uncertain but not showing it. He looked at Caroline who shot around at once, gazing at him with widened eyes. "W-What?", her throaty voice rang in his ears as he still just looked at her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – Blurry thoughs

Caroline´s heart raced. The thought of drinking Klaus´ blood once again made her shiver. Not that she was afraid of drinking it, she was afraid of the consequences. Afraid of her feelings, afraid of herself. She had drunken right from his wrist two times already and though it was to save her live, she couldn´t deny the intense feeling rushing through her body. Caroline wasn´t afraid of him or of the taste of his blood, because it was the best blood she´d ever tasted. How come she was so afraid of herself? Was she afraid of her own feelings that might come up at once? Of her heart exploding when she felt the blood touching her lips? Caroline didn´t know why she suddenly started to feel that drawn to Klaus. Yes, she always liked him and he always had this...thing that made her heart go crazy when he was around. But it was different now though. She felt so attracted by him, she wanted to feel his strong arms around her, she wanted to smell his simply divine scent, feel his full lips on hers...Something definitely changed and with every second it got harder and harder to deny her feelings. Caroline noticed how she was still staring at him, but also how the distance between had closed. Bewildered she had to admit that she was the one who drew closer, her eyes lost in his deep blue eyes. Klaus had a friendly look on his face though he wasn´t smiling. His eyes told her that he was really uncertain at this moment and so did his heartbeat. As Caroline listened to it, she heard it beating quickly and then slow, then a mix of both. She giggled mentally when she noticed how her heart did the same. It had been quiet for a while now and though it wasn´t uncomfortable at all. Caroline couldn´t stand the urge anymore and gazed down at his bare wrist. A lovingly smile played around Klaus´ mouth when he saw her biting her lips while gazing at his wrist. Slowly he held out his arm to her, expecting her to back away. Caroline´s heart raced like hell as she couldn´t take her eyes of his wrist. The desire was just too huge, she wanted to bite him, drink of him, feel his blood rush through her... Nervously and with cold hands she carefully reached out for his hand. When their hands touched, Caroline felt like her skin was on fire. His hand was warm and soft, gentle but strong, big but not too much, somehow perfectly fitting around hers...Slowly she moved her fingers further to his wrist, caressing his arm slightly, making sparks fly between them. Klaus looked at her curious but lovingly, this time not trying to calm his heart down. As Caroline tightened her grip around his wrist, he almost went crazy. Her touch on his skin and these slow motion moments felt so real, so perfect... Caroline slowly moved his arm towards her lips, causing her cold nose to stripe his hand during the movement. Her lips were already slightly touching his skin, just as light as a feather falling down. She once looked up to Klaus again, seeing his loving, friendly and also nervous face. As his eyes glued on hers, Caroline couldn´t resist anymore, so she closed her eyes and carefully bit into his wrist. In that second everything around them disappeared, it was just them, alone, sharing blood. She felt how her heart violently pounded against her chest, trying to burst out of it. Her mind was going crazy, every thought quickly vanished and everything inside her head went blurry. As his blood ran into her mouth, touching her lips and then her tongue, her whole body felt like it was on fire. Her skin was tingling and a pleasant warmth filled every inch of her body, sending shivers all over her body. The feeling got more intense and Caroline´s bite did as well. She couldn´t take the intensity by just standing there, she had to move, keeping herself from exploding and also she needed to be near him. He was the only person she could think about in that moment, he was everything to her. Tightening her grip around his wrist, she pushed Klaus against the next wall she could make out. She felt how his arm lay around her chest, as her back was pressed against his chest. As Klaus started to caress her waist, Caroline let out a quiet moan into his wrist. She couldn´t take the intensity, yet now it felt so good she couldn´t stop. His warm blood was running down her throat in a pleasant way, making her feel more alive every second. Suddenly Klaus placed a soft kiss on her hair, moving to her ear and kissing it as well. Caroline was positively surprised and as his soft lips playing on her earlobe drove her crazy, she slowly titled her head to the side to give him better access to her neck. Klaus took this as a sign to continue so he moved his lips from her earlobe to her neck after her slowly brushed away a streak. He started placing soft kisses all over her neck, causing her to moan once again in his arm. After the light kisses and his little movements on her waist drove Caroline crazy, she had to let go of Klaus´ wrist although she missed his blood already the second it didn´t touch her lips anymore. But she needed air, those kissed made the atmosphere even more intense. She let out a long breath, causing Klaus to smile into her neck while kissing it. Caroline was still holding his wrist when her lips slowly striped his palm. As he moaned quietly into a kiss, Caroline started placing light kissed on his palm. Klaus couldn´t hold himself from changing places with Caroline in vamp-speed and pinning her against the wall. Her eyes had normalized completely and now her beautiful blue eyes were burning into his. Klaus wasn´t sure if she wanted this but as he searched for any doubt in her eyes, he only found desire and love. Caroline´s hand slowly moved to the end of Klaus´ shirt and one hand ran under it, slowly sliding up and down his chest. Finally he took the shirt off, letting out a satisfied growl, because his skin went on fire everywhere she touched him. Then Klaus started kissing her neck again, moving to her earlobe and biting it gently. Caroline started to move her fingers on his chest in little circles. Klaus sucked in a sharp breath after she was driving him crazy with that little motion she was doing with her fingers. He continued kissing her neck while swiftly caressing her waist with his hands. Caroline´s hands slid through his amazing hair, over his neck, back to his chest. In all the heat and fever between them, Klaus accidentally rend her top, so that there was a crack from the top to her belly, what gave him a good look on the black laced bra she was wearing underneath. For a moment Klaus admired her in all her beauty, looking from her face to her feet, his eyes running over her perfect body but then he caught her eyes again and smiled lovingly. Her eyes overwhelmed him and he couldn´t stand the intense atmosphere any longer. Klaus brought his lips near hers and he could feel her hitched breath on his own. Caroline looked down at his lips, back to his eyes and back to his perfect, full lips. She expected him to kiss her and she longed so badly for that kiss, she couldn´t even keep it in words. She didn´t know what came over her to let that try of help get to an intense make-out-session with the Original, neither how it had come so far but right now she didn´t care. Right now she needed that kiss like the next breath. She waited so long for this moment although she had always denied it but now her heart was stronger than her mind. Her thoughts, her doubts, they were all blurry and weak. Her heart told her to do it, to follow her instinct and to finally kiss him. Caroline longed for his lips to press against hers and she could feel their hearts pounding against another´s chest. Feeling his bare skin against hers only made it worse and Caroline couldn´t wait any longer. Just as she wanted to press her lips against his, someone knocked at her door what broke the atmosphere at once. "Yea?", Caroline asked, realizing how throaty her voice was. "Care, I don´t know if you want to, but...we´re going to school now, wanna come?", Elena said and Klaus cursed her mentally for interrupting them. "Yea, y-yea I´m fine, I´ll be downstairs soon", Caroline replied just loud enough, noticing she was pinned against the wall right next to her door. "Alright, we´ll wait for you then", Elena answered and then they heard steps walking away. With widened eyes, Caroline looked up to Klaus, whose face was still only an inch away from hers, realizing they almost kissed. Quickly she pulled away from him, walking towards her bed. Klaus watched every move she made. Nervously she tried to fix her hair but her beautiful blonde curls were such a mess, that she decided to make an easy, high ponytail. She was already about to leave the room when Klaus cleared his throat. Apologetically he pointed at her top, causing Caroline to blush immediately. Quickly she went to the walk-in-closet and came back in a dark green, streaked with dark grey, tight top, a black tight jeans and black high heels. She took a last look at Klaus who still didn´t move an inch and muttered: "I should go downstairs". And with these words she was out of the room, leaving Klaus alone. He closed his eyes and leaned at the wall in defeat about the ruined moment. He was so close to her like never before. She let him kiss her, she pulled off his shirt, she wanted him to kiss her – she wanted him! Sighing, Klaus leaned his head at the wall, looking up to the ceiling. Someone up chance that opened up to him, not wanting him to be happy – she surely hated him enough! Slowly Klaus ran his hand over his hair and shook his head before her grabbed his shirt and followed Caroline downstairs.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Pride, vanilla, shards of glass

In school Caroline didn´t pay attention for just a second. Her thoughts drifted off the moment she sat down in class. Why did she let him kiss her? It was _just_ her neck but it almost got a real kiss. Moreover hot kisses on her neck didn´t make it any better, maybe even worse. They were obviously making out and with the kiss…who knows what would have happened then? Caroline did and she kicked herself mentally when she thought that it wouldn´t be bad at all. She couldn´t be falling for him, it was just not right! But – wasn´t it really? Actually there was no reason for her not to fall for him, also: he was a good catch after all. He was perfectly handsome, slightly taller than her and he had those cute curls. Then there were his incredibly deep blue eyes, which made her feel like she was diving in a deep blue sea every time she looked at them. His dimples…_god, his dimples_, Caroline thought sighing. Those dimples that appeared when he smiled his irresistible smile, the way he looked at her, the way he talked to her, the way he _was _around her… Thoughts over thoughts shot into Caroline´s mind, making all her doubts blurry again. "Oh nice ring Caroline, could I see it?", Rebekah´s voice interrupted her thoughts. They were standing at Caroline´s locker – _how the hell did they get there?!_, Caroline asked herself. The Original blonde grabbed Caroline´s hand to look at her ring and Caroline gazed at it. She remembered how perfect Klaus´ hand had fitted around hers…oh what she would give to hold his hand right now. Caroline couldn´t deny it any longer, she was drawn to Klaus, she was almost addicted to his presence. Then why did she pull him off earlier? Was she too proud to admit her feelings? Was she too afraid of what the others might think? What would her mother think? Questions bombarded her mind, making it sting like hell. "Caroline? Care- are you okay? Care?", voices sounded in her head but she couldn´t make out who they came from. "I just…I-I just-t…", Caroline stammered, unable to form a proper sentence as she looked at her arm. There was blood on her wrist, blood with a smell she remembered so well. "Care is that blood?!", Elena almost shrieked but she kept her voice as quiet as possible. "Caroline, vampire rule number one-", Bonnie started as Caroline cut her off. "I didn´t feed on anyone here! I invented this rule!", she hissed, still staring at her arm. The blood took almost all of her attention because she remembered how wonderful it tasted. Suddenly she felt how her eyes started to fill with tears and she cursed a few times mentally. "Oh Care, I didn´t mean to-", Bonnie started but Caroline shook her head eagerly. She didn´t want her friend to think it was her fault. "Oh come here!", Rebekah said caringly and pulled Caroline in a tight hug. "Woah!", she almost yelled, pulling away from Caroline with a huge grin on her face. "What is it?", Elena asked worriedly and also Bonnie was watching her curiously. "You my lady smell extremely like my brother!", she shrieked, pointing a finger at Caroline who was staring at her in shock. She didn´t think about that – of course his irresistible scent was practically glued on her after their make-out-session earlier. "Like who-", Elena started but Bonnie cut her off. "Klaus!?", she shrieked, her eyes wide open. Caroline was still perplexed and unable to think of what to say now so she grabbed Rebekah´s hand and pulled her along, out of school, the other two girls right behind them. They all had trouble to keep up with Caroline after she was nearly running out of school. "I wanna go home, I can´t tell you here!", she stated when they arrived at Elijah´s car, which he borrowed Elena. The other girls were a little confused and Bonnie was panting after she was not a vampire and this was way too fast for her. "Caroline-", Rebekah began but again she was cut off. "I´ll tell you everything but we have to go home!", Caroline demanded, furrowing her eyebrows when she noticed she just called the Mansion her home. The girls agreed and they all got into the car, making their way to the Mikaelson Mansion.  
_

Klaus was sitting in the living room, his legs placed on the big black couch. He was drawing at his sketching-block, when Kol entered the room. Klaus was still mad at him for the act he pulled the other day. He knew that Kol only danced like that with Caroline because she was quite a good dancer but what he said afterwards was only to make him jealous. After all his brother knew that he had quite a temper and he wasn´t even interested in Caroline. He thought _she looked like a tasty little thing_, to quote him, but after Klaus made clear he liked her, Kol´s interest faded away and he concentrated on other things. Now he even fancied this witch- "Brother", Kol´s normally mocking voice brought Klaus back to reality. He nodded towards him, not bothering to say a word. "You and baby vamp, eh?", Kol continued, jumping on the armchair opposite the couch. Klaus rolled his eyes on that term. _Baby vamp_, if he knew…Klaus continued ignoring his younger brother who didn´t seem to care about that. "She likes you, you know?", Kol said with a now more serious voice. Klaus tried not to listen to him but he was just too eager to hear what he knew. Slowly and with a really bad _I-don´t-care_ expression, Klaus lifted his head and glared at his younger brother, searching for any sign of mockery. But Kol´s face stayed friendly, and though serious. "How would you even know?", Klaus sighed annoyed, looking back at his sketch to draw a few strokes. "Oh I know much about women- but that´s not the point", Kol answered, with his cocky smile, placing his feet at the couch-table in front of him. "She told me", Kol said smirking as Klaus´ head shot up, looking at him in surprise. He expected much but no way in hell he expected this. "Well not it words- but her actions did!", Kol added and Klaus´ way too fast heartbeat slowed down a bit. He focused and set on his normal expression but Kol didn´t seem to care anyway. "The way she acts around you, it´s obvious- she´s falling for you!", Kol insisted, while Klaus still kept quiet. He just hoped his brother was too occupied with what he was telling him to notice his quick heartbeat. Immediately Klaus had to think back to the morning, when Caroline´s body was pressed against his bare chest and he could feel her fast heartbeat, similar to his own. A sly smile hushed over his lips when he thought about it. "Brothers", Elijah greeted them as he walked into the living room, taking a seat at the free space Klaus left at the couch. "What´s that smell?", he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Ew, don´t say you-", Kol bellowed disgusted, looking at Klaus who just ignored him and tried to make out the smell Elijah was talking about. "Vanilla-", Elijah stated, looking around bewilderedly. He made a small move toward Klaus and sniffed, furrowing his eyebrows again. "Niklaus, is that women perfume?", he asked even more confused. Klaus´ head shot up, looking perplexed as he looked at Elijah. Of course! How could he think they wouldn´t smell her irresistible scent? They were literally making out so it was no surprise her scent was all over his body. "What does this mean?", Elijah demanded, staring at his brother. Suddenly Kol broke into laughter, almost falling off the armchair. "I-If I didn´t know better, I- haha, I´d sa-hay you and sweet little Ca-haroline-", Kol brought out between loud laughter, unable to finish the sentence because he burst into laughter again. Elijah looked from his hysterically laughing brother to Klaus, seeing a slight smirk hush over his face. He just opened his mouth to say something as the front door loudly closed. The two older Originals´ faces flipped to the door.  
_

"Okay Care, could you tell us now what´s-", Elena started as she was, again, cut off by Caroline. "When we go in there now, concentrate on my heartbeat only. Bonnie you won´t be able to hear it but you two are-", Caroline explained, pointing at Elena and Rebekah. The three girls looked at her with bewildered faces. "Why should we-", Rebekah started but just that moment Caroline already stepped through the huge front door. As they entered the Mansion they heard loud laughter from the living room and before they could wonder, Caroline already headed there, making the other girls follow her curiously. "Elena dear, I thought you have school?", Elijah wondered, walking over to his fiancée, giving her a peck on her lips. Elena gave her a look that said she´d explain later and Elijah understood immediately. Caroline walked over to the bar, feeling Klaus´ gaze on her, making her shiver.  
_

Klaus watched Caroline walking over to the bar, taking out a glass for scotch. Bewildered he watched every move she made. Why were they back from school already? And why were they all acting that weird, including Caroline, obviously wanting to drink hard alcohol in the middle of the day…She was holding the glass in her perfect hand, pouring herself a glass of scotch. Suddenly the glass burst into pieces, causing her hand to drip of blood. With the sound of the glass breaking, Klaus jumped off the couch and in less than a second he was next to Caroline, looking at her bleeding hand. There was a big shard in it and the look of her perfect hand getting hurt made Klaus´ heart beat faster. He looked into Caroline´s eyes, searching for permission to take her hand and as he saw her soft gaze, he took her hand into his and inspected it carefully.  
_

Elena watched the scene and she could tell Caroline broke the glass intentionally. She had concentrated on her heartbeat all the time, just like Caroline had told her and when the glass broke, there was no slightest change of speed of her heartbeat like it normally was in a situation like that. As the glass burst into pieces, Klaus speeded over to her immediately. Elena watched how they changed quick looks before Klaus took Caroline´s hand to look at it. She was wondering what that was about as she suddenly heard her friend´s heartbeat fasten. Elena took a quick look at Rebekah who did the same and she nodded because they both were thinking the same.  
_

As Klaus inspected her hand, Caroline shivered under the contact. She had to admit, _hurting_ herself to show her friends what she felt was a little overdramatic but she didn´t know how else to tell. She didn´t even completely understand how she felt and she thought that actions showed more than words. She felt a light sting when Klaus carefully pulled out the shard of her hand. Caroline didn´t mean to but she couldn´t hold herself from a quiet yelp, after it hurt more than she thought. As she did, Klaus quickly put his other hand on top of hers to stop it from trembling. Her hand was now lying between his both perfectly warm hands and she couldn´t help herself – their hands fitted so perfectly. Caroline felt how her heart raced what made her cheeks blush right away. She knew that her friends were watching them but she was lost in Klaus´ deep blue eyes after they were burning into hers. Caroline blinked a few times, slowly pulling her hand away but Klaus held it back with one hand, taking the end of his shirt with the other hand. Surprised Caroline stared at him, uncertain what he was about to do. But Klaus just took the end of his shirt, wiping off the blood from her hand, as the cut had vanished already and only left back the blood. As he was done, he gave her hand a little squeeze before he let go of it. Perplexed and also amazed by his caring, Caroline looked up to him, seeing a lovingly smile on his lips. She copied this, making him grin even brighter. Then Caroline turned around and walked out of the room, the three girls right behind her, leaving the three Original brothers behind. Kol had finally stopped laughing and was now watching his brother with a mischievous smirk on his lips. Elijah kept on looking from the door, to the broken glass on the ground, to Klaus, repeating that process over and over again. Klaus however, was standing there, smiling widely as he held something in his hand…


End file.
